Blood Lust
by kinky mama
Summary: The Atlas team is unlike any army in the world, and they are determined to take down Sentinel once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter Text**

Gideon came down on his knee hard, hands in front to brace himself. He slowly looked up at the asshole who had cold-cocked him. A trickle of blood ran from his nose and down over his lip. His tongue slid out and over his lip, licking the blood, enjoying the coppery taste.

Gideon gave the man a very dangerous grin.

"That was a mistake mate," he said in a low voice, slowly rising to his feet.

The other man, who seconds before had felt like a badass, took in Gideon's feral grin and the lethal manner in which he stood back up, and when Gideon's eyes shifted from blue to something he couldn't quite put his finger on, he literally pissed himself.

Before he could register the movement, the man looked down to see that his throat had been ripped out, Gideon was now behind him, one hand on his jaw holding his head up slightly.

"And it was also your last mistake."

Gideon threw the lifeless body onto the floor in disgust, and wiped the blood from his mouth as his fangs retreated.

He looked over at Mitchell and spat. "Fucker tastes bad as well."

Mitchell laughed at that and leaned down to pick up Gideon's weapon that had dropped when he'd been surprised by the other man and smacked.

Handing it back to Gideon, he remarked, "I still don't know how you didn't hear him coming up on you."

Gideon shrugged, taking his weapon from Mitchell. "Guess I'm not as focused as I should be eh?" He slapped Mitchell on the back and started moving again.

"Come on kid, let's get this done."

The two men continued down the corridor, searching out their prey. Gideon checked in with the rest of his team for updates, and other than dealing with occasional guards here and there, all sides were moving in on the target on schedule.

Gideon's ear com buzzed with an update.

"Alpha two-one, target is located in a conference room, 30 feet ahead on your three."

"Copy that Prophet, moving in." Gideon relayed the information to the rest of the team and he and Mitchell moved in to just outside the room.

Mitchell closed his eyes, focusing his hearing on the room.

"Target is in there. I can hear him talking. Sounds like four, no wait, possibly six, others. Two may be stationary, north corners. Three others moving around slightly."

Gideon spoke into his com, readying his team. "Alpha team, target is confirmed. Possibly 5 additional tangos. We move on my mark. Make sure to keep target alive."

Checking his weapon and that Mitchell was ready, he spoke into his com once more.

"Go,go,go!"

Gideon and Mitchell burst through the door as the rest of Alpha team burst in through the windows, guns firing. Mitchell placed a round in between the eyes of the person closest to him before he was even able to raise his weapon. Gideon had made his way over to the target and used the butt of his weapon to cuff him up against the side of his head, knocking him out and then securing his hands with a zip tie. A quick glance around showed all hostiles were dead.

"I don't like this," Gideon said, "This was far too easy."

The rest of his team seemed to concur. Even with the hostiles on the ground dead, and their target secured, Alpha team was still very much on edge.

Gideon let his senses roam, trying to pick up on any threats, but was coming up with nothing.

"OK everyone, let's move, but keep your heads on a swivel. Joker, bag our target and haul him out of here."

"You got it boss," Joker replied as he walked over and with no trouble grabbed the target and threw him over his shoulder.

Alpha team made their way back out of the conference room, Mitchell and Torres on point, Joker in the middle surrounded by other two other Alphas, and Gideon watching their rear. Gideon radioed in to let Prophet know they had their target and were heading back out.

As they crept along, Gideon noticed Mitchell and Torres scenting the air, their heads up slightly, nostrils flared. He sniffed, getting the scent of something so faint he almost didn't smell it.

"Mitchell, can you identify it?" Gideon asked, referring to the scent. Mitchell put his hand up in the sign for the group to stop. Looking over at Torres and getting a slight shake of the head, Mitchell turned to Gideon.

"No, there's something there. But I can't pinpoint what it is." Gideon nodded, "Yeah, me either. Let's keep going but I just have a sense all hell is about to break loose."

They kept going, turning a corner and after a few feet Joker cried out and dropped their target.

"Shit, HITs, everyone DOWN!" Joker yelled, throwing himself down on top of their target and dragging Ronin, a member of the team, with him. At the same time Gideon was screaming to initiate their exo-shields.

A split second later a thermobaric bomb exploded, the blast wave screaming down the corridor they were in, the air igniting. Furniture, plants, artwork on the walls, everything was incinerated. Mitchell could feel the pressure on his lungs and the intense heat flowing over him. The only thing protecting him from instant death was his exo-shield.

When it was finally over, Mitchell and other members of the team threw off the melted remnants of their shields and stood up. They immediately put on their balaclavas and goggles to protect their faces and lungs from the remaining heat, ash and soot. Pushing his shield off, Gideon stood up and took stock of their situation. Joker was getting up off of their target and checking his pulse. He nodded to confirm to Gideon he was still alive. Gideon looked over at the charred pile of ash and twisted, melted exo-suit that had been one of his men.

"Johnson, sir. Didn't get his shield up fast enough," Torres said.

Fucking hell, Gideon thought. Gideon called in to his com to Prophet, but received only static. The blast had knocked out their com systems.

"Ok men, we're on our own. We need to hightail it out of here on the double before we get an encore performance. Who still has functioning weapons?"

Everyone looked around. Most of their weapons had been incinerated. Everyone still had their side arms since they had been holstered and therefore protected by their shields. Joker and Torres were the only ones to have assault rifles as they had managed to fall on top of them.

"OK, Mitchell, you take our target. Joker and Torres up front. Ronin with me and stay tight." Gideon instructed.

Taking their positions and after Mitchell hoisted their target up, they began to make their way out. It was only a few minutes when the team began to notice the effect of the blast on them. Everyone was coughing, wiping their eyes. The adrenaline rush of the blast was wearing off. Mitchell stumbled with the body over his shoulder when Gideon suddenly grabbed him and told his team to stop.

"Fuck me, Mitchell, didn't you notice this?" He pulled their target off his shoulders, then reached down to Mitchell's side, right above his hip bone. A piece of metal, possibly from Johnson's exo-suit, was imbedded in his side. Mitchell hadn't, and until it was pointed out, hadn't felt a thing. Now of course the pain hit.

"Shit," he breathed. "Why is it always me that gets hit," he groused. Mitchell's head shot up and just as he said "Gideon!" Joker and Torres also yelled.

"We have incoming tangos!"

Mitchell dragged the target's body over to some cover then moved into it as well. Pulling out his side arm he chambered a round and waited. It was only a second before a threat grenade was thrown their way, lighting them up.

The fire fight started, each side trying their hardest to pick off the other. Mitchell fired, taking out two of the enemy. Gideon was on the opposite side of the hall in a little alcove similar to Mitchell's. He was looking for a way to move positions.

"We need to flank them somehow," he said to Mitchell, trying to find the opening he needed. "How are you on ammo?"

Mitchell checked his gun and his belt. "I've got 6 six rounds left and one clip."

"OK, make your shots count. I'm out completely." Gideon stood up and with two good kicks busted through the door in his alcove.

Mitchell looked at him. "What the hell are you doing? You can't flank them without a weapon," Mitchell hissed at him. Gideon checked the room then came back out into the alcove.

"I have my knife and one contact grenade. There's a window in that room that over-looks that central area we're getting hit from. If I can get out the window and up a level, I can drop down on one of them and take his weapon."

Mitchell just shook his head. "You're fucking nuts man. Don't get yourself killed, I don't want to deal with the Boss if you do."

Gideon winked at him as if to say, 'who me? Get killed? Naw'. And with that he moved into the other room. Mitchell turned back to the fighting. He could see the enemy moving positions and getting closer, but there wasn't a whole hell of a lot they could do except hopefully pick them off as they got closer. One of them stood up suddenly, closer than Mitchell expected and lobbed a frag grenade towards them. Torres tried to grab it and throw it back but wasn't fast enough as it exploded and he was riddled with shrapnel. He cried out in pain as he moved back into cover. "Mother fucker!" He yelled. Any other normal person and he would've been blown to bits. But as it was, Mitchell knew he had to be in severe pain.

"Torres, you good man?" He yelled.

"Yeah, fucking perfect," he yelled back. He was bleeding profusely from all of the open wounds.

Mitchell heard the window from the other room shatter and figured Gideon was making his move, so he trained his sights on the enemy and waited for someone to poke their head up so he could put a hole in it.

Gideon had shattered the window with one blow of his arm. Having meta-human strength was handy. The trick now was to get out and up without being picked off. He sat up on the edge, using the wall for coverage to try and get a look out. He could see some of the enemy. The problem was the ones he couldn't see. He'd have to be damn fast he thought. As much as he hated to waste it, he figured his grenade could be used as a diversion to give him time to get out of the window. He pulled it out of his belt and pulled the pin, waiting a beat before throwing it into an area that he knew at least one tango was in. The second it detonated he jumped up and out of the window, then turned on his heel to face the wall and jumped, higher than any normal person should be able to jump. As he caught the ledge someone had spotted him and opened fire and he caught a couple of rounds in his leg. Hissing in pain he flung himself over the ledge and hunkered down. The rounds had gone through the leg entirely, and the wound had already begun to heal itself.

He army crawled over to his left to try and get above one tango. Looking through the floor grating he could see it was a lone enemy. Perfect. He got up into a squat, trying to stay behind the cover of the rail, and then launched himself up and over, coming down on top of the enemy and with one swift moved snapped his neck so hard he partially decapitated him. He squatted back down and grabbed the dead man's rifle. Almost a full clip already loaded, two more clips on the man's vest. Gideon got in position and sighted down the barrel locating enemy targets. He was able to kill three from this position. He found another lone enemy and crawled out of his spot, sticking behind cover as much as he could, and made his way over. One quick shot and the man was dead. He slithered into his spot and took inventory. Two rifles and 6 clips, jack pot. From here he could see Joker so he whistled at him. Joker looked his way and Gideon caught his eye. Joker grinned at him when Gideon held up the barrel of the rifle to show him and made a throwing movement, letting Joker know what he was about to do. Using his fingers he counted down from three and launched the first rifle towards Joker. It hit the floor and slid right up to him, Joker didn't even have to lean out to get it. Whistling again Gideon showed the second rifle and the clips, and on three the clips went sailing over, one by one. Most made it fairly close to him, one bounced off the wrong way. Gideon then launched the second rifle which unfortunately did not end up near any of his men, let alone Joker.

Using hand signals Gideon indicated he would lay down cover fire so Joker could get the rifle. Gideon opened fire, spraying the area while Joker squirted out, flinging himself across the corridor and swiping the rifle on the way. Once he was covered he threw the rifle to Mitchell and then squirted back to his original spot, picking up the original rifle Gideon threw him and threw it Ronin, one of the other members of Alpha.

His men were now armed with something more useful than a side arm and they began to use them, all but Torres. Gideon couldn't really see him, just a sliver of his side. Slight movements told Gideon he was alive, but not able to fight.

Gideon began to work his way through the cover and saw Joker and Ronin doing the same. Mitchell held back with the target. As Gideon and his men converged on the enemy the fire fight seemed to pick up in intensity. Bullets were firing everywhere but thankfully no Alphas were being hit. Gideon could feel his blood lust starting to rise and felt his fangs appear. Spotting Ronin, he could see he was already well into his lust. He was able to make eye contact with Ronin and then managed to army crawl his way over to his hiding spot.

"Ronin, we need at least one tango left alive. Torres will need to feed so he can heal."

Ronin nodded at him, "Copy that."

Suddenly one of the enemy jumped over the container they were hiding in and landed on top of Ronin. Before he could fire Gideon had wrenched his weapon out of his hand and wrapped an arm around the man's neck, putting him into a choke hold and slowly depriving him of air. Ronin had grabbed his feet to keep the man from kicking him out into the open, and let go only when the man slumped over, unconscious.

"Well looky there boss, you ordered food, it was delivered," he snorted. Gideon looked around but there was no way to really secure him to anything to prevent him from escaping if he woke before they were ready for him, so he just had to hope he stayed down until their situation was secured.

"Let's end this. I want to get out of here," Gideon muttered.

Suddenly a threat grenade exploded and lit the room up. Gideon guessed it must have come from Joker because of where it went off. The remaining enemy were highlighted and the three Alpha members methodically took them out.

After it was finally over Joker found Gideon and Ronin picking up the unconscious enemy.

"Come on let's move back to where Mitchell and Torres are, quickly."

They dragged the body back to where it had all started and dumped him near Torres. Mitchell had at some point dragged the target over to where Torres was, and they found Mitchell slumped against the wall. He was bleeding even worse from his side wound, and his wrist had been split open.

"Mitchell what the hell man," Joker said. "Did you feed him in your state?"

Mitchell just nodded. "He…was..losing…he needed…food," he rasped out. Mitchell had fed Torres to keep him from dying, but in the process almost killed himself.

"Fuck Jack, you almost gave too much kid," Gideon whispered too him, pulling him over to him. Gideon looked over to see Joker had sliced open one wrist on the enemy and held it to Torres's mouth, trying to get him to feed. They wouldn't be able to completely heal him until they could get the shrapnel out, but they could at least get him back on his feet.

Turning back to Mitchell, he saw how pale he was from blood loss. He pulled out the fabric of his shirt and began to work out the piece of metal in his side. It was a lot larger than he had first thought. Mitchell squirmed in pain but said nothing as it was finally removed. Gideon used a fang to slice the vein on his wrist and held it up to Mitchell, cradling his head to him.

"Come on kid, drink."

Mitchell's eye began to swirl, going from the normal shade of blue to a blue so intense they glowed, and when his fangs slid out he grabbed on to Gideon's wrist and drank. As he drank the bleeding from his side began to slow. Gideon pulled up the fabric and confirmed that the wound was beginning to heal over.

"That's it, a bit more kid," Gideon whispered, still cradling Mitchell's head to his chest. Mitchell, sensing he had taken enough from Gideon let go of his arm and let his head fall back. Gideon wiped his mouth off for him and then his own wrist, which had already healed over. Mitchell looked over towards Torres.

"He gonna be ok Gid?"

Gideon looked over and saw they had split the other wrist open and were holding it to Torres, and the owner of that wrist had woken to find himself being sucked dry. Ronin had a hold of him in a vice-like grip while Joker held the arm steady. As he bled out they could see a bit more movement from Torres. Once dead they threw the body away from them.

Joker looked up at Gideon. "He's gonna need at least another round boss."

Gideon patted Mitchell's leg and stood up. Mitchell would need only a few minutes to finish healing and he would be back to fighting strength.

Torres was conscious, but would have a tough time walking without more to feed on. He was still bleeding from the multiple wounds.

Joker walked over to him and said, "Had Mitchell not fed him he may not have made it. Is he ok?"

Gideon nodded back, "Yeah he's fine. He fed from me, he'll be back to 100% any minute now."

As Gideon worked out the rest of their exit strategy in his head, Mitchell stood up and shook himself off. He could feel the energy and strength flowing through him. Feeding from Gideon was intense. The feeling was almost sexual in the euphoria it produced. He wasn't sure why either. They had all fed from each other at one point in time, usually when someone was hurt and needed a quick heal. He'd never had this feeling from anyone else, and had never heard anyone mention feeling something similar.

As he grabbed the rifle and prepared to hoist their target, who was still unconscious, Joker gave a little head nod towards Mitchell while looking at Gideon.

"You ever notice his reaction when he feeds from you boss?"

When Gideon just looked at him, Joker went on.

"I mean, his eyes, they glow. I don't think any of ours glow when we feed, they're just their usual blood lust shade. But his glow."

Chuckling, Joker knocked Gideon in the arm and as he walked away threw over his shoulder, "Must be you just taste really good boss."

Running his hands threw his hair and over his face, Gideon readied his rifle and nodded to Mitchell to grab their target and prepare to move out.

He knew why Mitchell's eyes glowed when he fed from Gideon. He just wasn't ready to share that reason. Yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Gideon walked into the common room back on base, looking forward to a few hours of down time. They'd finally managed to get out of the compound they had been sent to, finding and containing two more enemies so that Torres could feed and heal enough to become mobile. It was a tough mission but he had a top of the line team under him and knew they'd make their way back.

He spotted Mitchell and Joker playing pool and nodded to them as he headed over to the fridge to grab himself a beer. There was a football game on the big screen t.v. but no one was paying any attention to it.

"Hey boss, how's Torres doing?" Joker asked as he cracked a yellow striped ball into a side pocket.

Gideon sat down in a chair and watched the two of them play.

"He's good. Med team pulled out 223 pieces of shrapnel, but he's healed up now."

Mitchell sucked in a sympathy breath. "Fuck, that sucks."

Joker laughed and said, "And I'm sure he was a model patient while they removed them all too hunh?"

The three men laughed, feeling like it was ok now that they knew Torres would be ok and heal.

"From what I hear he pitched one hell of a fit before they finally tranq'd his ass to get him to shut up, " Gideon chuckled, taking a long pull of his beer. "He's a tough fucker that one."

Mitchell lined up a shot and sank the last three solids on the table, called the black ball into a corner pocket and sank it cleanly.

"Goddamn Mitchell, I swear you cheat," Joker groused, handing over the money he'd just lost on the game.

Mitchell just grinned as he re-racked the balls.

"Naw man, you just suck. Come on, one more round, double or nothing."

"No way man, I'm already down a hundred bucks." He threw his cue to Gideon who caught it easily with one hand. "You play boss, maybe you can beat him."

Mitchell leaned against the table with a cocky grin while he chalked up his cue. "Come on Cap'n, don't be shy."

Gideon stood up and moved over to the table. He hadn't played pool in ages, and wasn't entirely sure how he would stack up against Mitchell. He threw Joker his empty bottle, "Get us another round Joker," and proceeded to chalk his cue, eyes on Mitchell.

Mitchell leaned over and broke, one solid and two stripes going in. "I'll be nice to you and call solids, give you a head start," he said, grinning at Gideon.

"I don't need a head start you wanker," Gideon groused, lining up a shot. Letting go the white ball sailed right past the ball he was aiming for and knocked the black ball into the side pocket.

"Fuck me."

After threatening Mitchell with having his balls removed with a spoon when Mitchell offered Gideon a do-over, they re-racked again. Joker had brought over more beers and all three of them drank.

By the third game Joker had realized they hadn't been betting and complained loudly. "Hey what the fuck man? Why isn't there any money on the table? "

Gideon was kind of glad, he'd lost the first two games, he was currently ahead on this one but wasn't about to bet his life on winning it. Mitchell was really good and seemed to have a knack for knowing where to strike the table to get the shot he wanted. Gideon grabbed more beers while Mitchell lined up another shot.

Gideon managed to win the game, barely. They had both had one ball left and it just so happened Gideon sank his first.

"Alright, ante up boys. If I'm out money, one of you is out as well," Joker said.

"I don't have anything on me," Gideon said, "credits ok?" Mitchell nodded his agreement and Joker said he would keep the tally. Gideon noticed the number of beer bottles laying around, he'd already had 4 beers, it looked like Mitchell was on his sixth. Hmm, maybe if Joker kept the beer flowing Mitchell would lose.

"Another round Joker!" Gideon said and racked the balls. Mitchell smirked at Gideon, he knew what he was up to.

Gideon broke and the game was on.

Three hours later, Joker was barely conscious, Gideon had a strong buzz and had lost count on how many bottles Mitchell had gone through, and yet Mitchell kept beating him game after game.

After losing yet again, Gideon put his stick down. "Alright mate, that's it. I'm done. I think Joker's right, you are cheating. And how are you not completely pissed?"

"I told you so boss..." Joker slurred out.

Mitchell just smirked again, not saying anything. He had never been able to drink that much until coming to Atlas. Now, he could drink beer until the cows came home without getting much of a buzz.

"Fuck me, I think I lost two years worth of wages to you, kid."

Mitchell stepped to the wall where Gideon was leaning and put his cue back on the rack, leaning over closely to Gideon.

"You can always make it up to me in other ways," Mitchell said under his breath as he headed over to the couch and flopped down, grabbing the remote and channel surfing.

Gideon just stood there, not sure if he actually heard what he just heard. Joker stood up and swayed into Gideon before finding his balance, then mock-saluted to Gideon saying he was going to his room.

As he stumbled out Gideon heard Joker say to himself, "damn now I know I'm drunk, swear his eyes are glowing."


	3. Chapter 3

The room was like something out of a cliché movie. Dark, dank, one light hanging from the ceiling. Bare bulb of course.

He'd been chained to a wall for hours. No one had been in since they'd dragged him in barely conscious. One second he was meeting with his top advisors, the next someone had hit him upside the head with a rifle. And now he was here. He had finally gone from pain to numbness in his arms. He assumed he was in some kind of Atlas holding cell, it only made sense. They'd been trying to take him and his higher ups down for some time. His team was getting too close to Atlas he guessed, and Atlas finally decided to take him and his team on.

A door banged open and two MPs in exo-suits and heavily armed came in and took position on either side of the door. A woman walked in, tablet in hand and a satchel. She was beautiful, lithe, deep brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She dropped the tablet and satchel on the table in the room and looked at him.

"Mr. Knox, so kind of you to join us." She unrolled her satchel, straightening an array of knives.

Shit, shit, shit, he thought. He knew who the woman was now. Russian accent, various knives. Knox was looking at one of Atlas' deadliest agents, a former Spetsnaz fighter. This was not going to be pretty for him. He'd heard all about her and her successful interrogation techniques. Knox knew he would be dead the moment he realized he'd been captured, but knowing he'd have to endure what was about to follow made it that much tougher to swallow.

Gideon was hunched over a tablet, perusing various maps, intel and field sitreps. His concentration would falter every now and then when he'd think back to last night in the common room and Mitchell's odd words to him after the game. Shaking his head, he mentally told himself to re-focus on his work.

Mitchell himself walked in a few minutes later and sat down across from Gideon, dumping down a tablet and a coffee cup. A second cup of coffee he handed over to Gideon.

"Here, figured you might need this," he said distractedly.

Gideon took it readily, inhaling the scent.

"Aye, thanks mate. You keep bringing me these and you'll be my new favorite person."

Mitchell quirked his eyebrow at Gideon. " I should always be your favorite, regardless."

Gideon chuckled at him. "Hey as long as you regularly provide me caffeine in the form of coffee and foam, you'll keep that honor."

Smiling at their banter Mitchell sat back and scratched his hands through his hair, leaving it mussed. He started swiping through screens on his tablet. He had to admit to feeling a bit off today. This morning he'd been called in to receive a booster injection of Shadow, and ever since he'd been feeling odd. For one thing he could swear his hearing had been amped up, except it sometimes sounded like it was inside his head. It was really annoying. The tech had told him any side effects he may feel should wear off in time. But he refused to tell Mitchell what those side effects might be and how long they may last.

"So I heard they brought in Ilona this morning to work over Knox," Mitchell said.

Gideon took a sip of his coffee, savoring it. "Yeah, I heard that as well. Oh to be a fly on the wall in that room."

Mitchell shuddered. "I dunno man, I've heard about her and her knives. Have you heard about those Spetsnatz guys? Crazy."

"Regardless," Gideon cut in, "Mr. Knox in there is not going to be enjoying life and will be soon begging for death. Hopefully she can get the info we need out of him."

Mitchell shook his head. "I doubt it. He's not going to give up Sentinel's hidey hole, or its people."

Gideon looked over at Mitchell and noticed he was acting odd. He didn't seem like himself to be honest.

"Everything ok mate? You look pale. You coming down with something?"

Mitchell looked up from his tablet and took a sip of his coffee. "No, I don't think so. I don't know. I had to get a booster injection this morning and it's just making me feel weird. Did you get called in for one?"

Gideon nodded at the man. "Yeah, supposed to go in tonight actually. I think the rest of Alpha team goes in tomorrow. Guess they want to make sure their little guinea pigs are still on track," he snorted.

"You are an Atlas Investment," both men simultaneously mocked in stern voices. Gideon laughed. Yeah, don't want the powers that be to think their little projects aren't measuring up, he thought to himself.

Gideon's tablet beeped at him, notifying him of an incoming email. He opened his email window and began to read, then began typing a response.

Just as he looked up Joker and Ronin walked into the room.

"Dude, did you hear that Russian chick is here? Man, that guy is gonna be _hatin'_ life!" Joker laughed.

Ronin smirked at Joker, slapping him upside his head. "I heard she's hot."

Joker punched him back in the gut. "Dude you probably just think she's hot cuz she has a thing for knives."

Ronin just smirked again, and shrugged.

Gideon looked up from his tablet. "OK ladies, if you're done screwing around, we have new orders coming in. Just got an email in from Irons. He wants Alpha team to move in on a location and scout it while we wait to see if any information is gathered from Knox. Joker, go buzz Torres and tell him to get in here, I want him up to speed."

Joker did as ordered and when Torres arrived two minutes later, Gideon got down to the business of outlining their mission. Suspected Sentinel agents were gathering in an abandoned complex in South America. They would go in and scout, hopefully learn the location of the Sentinel base and hopefully take them out once and for all. Sentinel was Atlas' biggest, and really only, threat. The constant harassment of Atlas forces had driven Irons to push ahead Project Shadow sooner than planned, hoping that the edge it provided to Atlas soldiers would be enough to finally end Sentinel once and for all.

After finishing the briefing, the team members went their separate ways. Gideon made his way over to the med unit for his injection. He walked in and nodded to the doctor on call.

"Ah Captain, good, I'm glad you came in. Let's get you up to date. Go ahead and take a seat."

Gideon did as he was told and waited while the doctor prepared the syringe.

"So doc, any side effects I should be aware of? I understand you were pretty vague with Mitchell this morning, and he's been off all day."

The doctor started to make his way over to where Gideon was when he responded.

"Nothing you need to worry about Captain."

Just as he raised the syringe Gideon grabbed his wrist, halting any further movement.

"Excuse me, _mate_ , but you're damn well going to tell me what I can expect not only for myself, but the rest of my men as well."

Just as the doctor was about to reply, Irons walked in and headed straight for Gideon.

"Captain," he said, placing his hand on Gideon's arm, non-verbally telling him to release the doctor's arm. Gideon did, but glared at the doctor and telling him in no uncertain terms not to continue.

"Mr. Irons, sir, you can't expect me to blindly continue when I've seen for myself that at least one member of my team is not at 100% after getting this latest..."

Irons cut Gideon off. He signaled to the doctor to leave and give the two men privacy. When they were alone Irons pulled up a chair and sat across from Gideon.

"Captain, I know you have concerns on this, but you have to know I would not be doing anything to you or your team that would adversely affect you."

"And you have to know that I do not like being kept in the dark, especially when it's something that has to do with our bodies. I don't understand the secrecy here, sir, in terms of side effects."

Irons nodded, then stood up and paced a bit before turning back to face Gideon. Gideon was leaning now against the med table, arms crossed, one leg crossed over the other at the ankle. Irons knew Gideon, and knew that despite the 'laid back' look to his pose, Gideon was very much on guard.

"You already know what one of the side effects is, correct?"

Gideon nodded, but said nothing. It was a bit of a whopper of a side effect, but he was aware of it.

"Well what you probably don't realize is that it is not temporary."

At this Gideon stood up, head tilted to the side slightly.

"I'm sorry, say that again?"

"There is one major side effect to Shadow Captain, and yes, it is permanent." Gideon began to pace the room. Irons continued.

"You have been mated Captain, and there's nothing you can do about it. You're just going to have to accept it."

Gideon whirled around and fixed Irons with a glare that should have melted his skin.

"Aye, I may be able to accept it, but will Mitchell be able _to fucking accept_ it when he realizes it?"


	4. Chapter 4

"He will, yes. In time. As will the others who will discover that they will become mated when their time comes. At this point in your transition, biology has taken over. Believe it or not you will each choose your mates, just as you would have outside of Shadow. You are the first to have chosen."

Gideon just looked at Irons. He was trying to wrap his head around this newest information. Was Irons trying to tell him he was gay? He didn't believe that. He had a long list of ex-girlfriends and fuck buddies to prove otherwise. On the other hand, there was no denying the connection he had with Mitchell. He had never been closer to anyone, at least non-sexually, than he had Mitchell. Hell, he had confided things to Mitchell that he would never have dreamed of confiding in to anyone else. He thought back to what Mitchell had said to him after playing pool, and his reaction to it. And he remembered Joker's words about thinking he saw Gideon's eyes glow. Gideon was thoroughly confused.

As if reading his thoughts, Irons spoke up again.

"You will find Gideon, that there is more to being mated than just sex. While I do believe you and Mitchell will eventually find your way on that ground, you will discover that the connection you share, that you've shared even before Shadow was started, is the foundation of your mating. It's not a gay or straight thing."

Gideon stood in the middle of the room, chewing on his thumb. His mind was racing and he couldn't think of anything to say at the moment. It was a colossal WTF moment for him.

"And this booster that you want me to take, that Mitchell had this morning? What is its purpose?"

Irons smiled at Gideon, thankful that he somewhat calm about everything he had just revealed.

"It will amplify your connection somewhat. The effects Mitchell has been experiencing today are half of the total experience. You, as his mate, are the other half. The rest of your team will experience enhanced vision and hearing as well as strength, as will you. But you and Mitchell will have an extra enhancement that only mates have."

When Gideon raised an eyebrow at Irons, as if to say 'ok, so what enhancement is that?', Irons walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Take the booster, then go to Mitchell and feed from him."

Irons walked towards the exit and nodded at the doctor to come back in and continue. Gideon began to speak, but Irons cut him off.

"Just do it Captain."

With that Irons left. The doctor was back in the room with the syringe and motioned to Gideon to come over. He walked over, albeit slowly, and allowed the doctor to administer the serum.

Mitchell was sprawled on the couch in the common room, watching t.v. It was some really old t.v. show from about a hundred years ago about a spaceship exploring space and alien worlds. It was really hokey, he thought. Lots of bad acting, some dude with pointy ears and it seemed like the ones who wore red shirts always died.

He started laughing when some big plastic-looking lizard thing stepped out from behind a rock. He couldn't believe people back in those days thought this was good t.v.

He saw Gideon walk in and noticed right away he looked pale. Gideon walked over to the fridge and took out a beer. When he turned and spotted Mitchell, he nodded towards the fridge, silently asking if Mitchell wanted one as well. When Mitchell nodded back Gideon grabbed a second bottle and headed over to the couch, tossing the bottle to Mitchell and sitting down at the other end.

"You look like shit Cap'n. You get the booster?"

Gideon took a swig of his beer, then nodded once. "Yep."

Mitchell twisted the cap of his beer and took a long drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"How are we supposed to be successful on this mission if we all end up sick from this latest round? Why won't they tell us what this round is supposed to do? Damn it, I don't want to be in the field at less than 100%."

Gideon took another swig.

"Irons came in when I refused to take it and tried to demand more information from the doc."

Mitchell raised his eyebrows at Gideon. "Oh yeah? What the hell happened?"

"Honestly, he told me some things that I'm trying to wrap my head around. Then he told me to take the serum and then feed from you. I guess it's supposed to kick in some new enhancement."

Mitchell just looked at Gideon, completely confused. No one had said anything like that to him.

"I don't get it, what kind of enhancement? What more can they do to us? We already have amped up hearing, vision, smell and strength."

Gideon just shrugged and sighed. "I don't know mate. It was all very 'deep'," he said, using air quotes. "He just told me to do it."

"And he said to feed from me? Specifically? That seems weird. I don't think you've ever had to before."

Gideon thought back to the times he'd had to feed from a team member. He'd fed from Joker and Torres, that was it. He remembered the last time Mitchell fed from him though.

"So when are you supposed to do that, now?" Mitchell asked.

Gideon shrugged. Neither Irons nor the doctor had given him a time line for when he was to feed. He guessed it was whenever he wanted.

"I guess so, they didn't really tell me when."

Mitchell put his beer down on the table and unstrapped the knife he carried.

"Well if you want to do it now that's fine. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

Gideon just nodded, and watched as Mitchell sliced into the vein on his wrist, then held his arm out towards Gideon.

Gideon took his wrist and brought it to his mouth and began to drink. Almost instantly he became overwhelmed with an intense array of emotions. For a second he tried to pull back, almost panicked, but his mouth refused to let go. His body began to heat up and his head began to swim. He felt like he was on fire one second, and then the next the most intense feeling of euphoria crashed through him making him feel like he was flying. He was vaguely aware of Mitchell grabbing him by the shoulder, but he couldn't move. His mind was locked out of his body and he felt like he was just along for the ride. He couldn't even see at this point, just vivid colors swam before his eyes as that sense of euphoria continued to flow through him. His entire body tingled.

He had no idea how long he'd been feeding. It could have been 2 hours, it could have been 2 seconds. His body, working independently from his mind, must have decided he'd had enough and let go of Mitchell's wrist, licking the cut to help it heal quickly. He fell back against the couch, trying to regain his senses, but failing.

The room was spinning out of control and yet he somehow managed to get up and stagger out of the room, feet moving by themselves. He felt like he was high as fuck on some designer drug. He wasn't sure if he liked it or hated it. Somehow he made it into his room before he crashed into his table and then fell onto his bed and passed out, vaguely recalling Mitchell slumping over on the couch in the common room. But he was unconscious before he could panic about whether he had hurt the man or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Gideon groaned as he rolled over in his bed. His mouth tasted like cotton, his head felt like an AST had stepped on it, and he wished Mitchell would shut the hell up.

He laid back and put his hands over his eyes, trying to block out the glare of the light coming in through the window.

"Mitchell, for the love of all that is holy, will you please stop talking so god damn loud? My head is ready to explode."

Getting no reply, and grateful for the silence, Gideon rubbed his eyes and willed himself to sit up. Holy shit, he thought, he had never in his life had a hangover like the one he was experiencing right now. He tried to remember what the hell he had been doing last night. Had he been drinking with the guys? No, no he didn't think so. Hunched over, elbows on his knees and head in his hands, the events of last night began to come in focus. The injection, feeding from Mitchell. It was all surreal.

"Mitchell, what the hell happened last night?"

When Mitchell didn't respond, Gideon looked up and around the room. It was empty.

"Mitchell? You in here mate?" Gideon's room was completely empty, he was the only one there. What the hell he thought. Maybe he'd left and Gideon just didn't realize it. Although what Mitchell was doing in his room Gideon couldn't figure out, unless he'd helped Gideon back to his room after that whole weird feeding thing. Gideon got up and cleaned up, wanting nothing more than to down half a bottle of aspirin and go back to bed.

Gideon finally had himself dressed and ready for the day, at least physically. He wasn't going to be worth shit today he thought. His com beeped, indicating a message. Walking over to read it Gideon saw that he was wanted down in the briefing room for an update. Grabbing his com and attaching it to its rightful place on his arm, he headed out of his room and down to the briefing room.

Mitchell sat at the table, elbows on the table and forehead on his fists. He was pretty sure at some point in the night a bass drummer had taken residence in his head and was practicing his beats. Add to that waking up with the most painful morning wood he'd ever experienced in his life and needless to say Mitchell was not in a good mood.

Looking over at Ronin Joker snorted and pointed at Mitchell. "Fucker finally gave himself a hangover. I've never seen him hung over and he drinks like a fish, hehe."

Mitchell turned his head slightly, just enough to glare at Joker out of one eye. Unfortunately it was all he could muster at the moment.

Across the table Torres laughed, "man no witty comeback, Mitchell you must really be shit faced. Why the hell wasn't I invited to the party?" Joker and Ronin both joined in with 'yeah, why nots'. Head still down on his fists Mitchell popped up both middle fingers at his team, to the response of laughs.

The door to the briefing room opened and Joker, Ronin and Torres turned to see Gideon walk in, slowly, looking very much like he was hating life. Joker looked at him, then Mitchell, then back to Gideon and went bugged eyed.

"Wo-ho-ho it looks like Mitchell wasn't the only one partying it up last night boys!" The three men laughed, Mitchell groaned and Gideon told them all to fuck off.

As Gideon took his seat Irons walked in and took his seat at the table and everyone immediately quieted and came to attention.

Irons looked around the table at the team, noting Mitchell and Gideon's appearances, and called the briefing to order.

Irons spent the next 45 minutes outlining the scouting mission and what he expected in terms of results. After sending out the mission information to each man's tablets, he informed them they would engage tomorrow night and then called an end to the briefing and excused the men. As everyone stood and began to leave, Irons called Mitchell and Gideon over and quietly told them to go back to medical, that they could take something to counter-affect their symptoms to last night's activities. Nodding to Irons the men headed out.

They had remained silent halfway to medical before Gideon finally spoke up.

"So, uh, about last night. I'm not, really sure what happened, you know?" Gideon felt really awkward, his hand rubbing up the back of his neck.

Mitchell just kept his eyes on the ground. He wasn't sure what to say. Gideon feeding from him had been something so strange he had no words for it.

Thinking Mitchell's silence meant Gideon had done something pretty bad, he grabbed Mitchell's arm, pulling him to a stop. Forcing eye contact, Gideon asked him again.

"Mate, what happened last night? I honest to fuck don't understand what happened. Did I hurt you? Take too much? I remember feeding from you and you slumping back when I was done, but everything in between was seriously fucked up weird man. Then I woke up back in my quarters and I'm not even sure how I got back."

Mitchell hadn't said anything, but Gideon noticed he was looking really awkward, and if he wasn't mistaken his ears were a bright shade of pink.

"Mitchell, man, we've been friends a long time. Please tell me what happened. If I hurt you or did something stupid I have to know so I can fix it. I don't want our friendship fucked up over something I did."

Mitchell looked like he was warring with himself as to whether or not to divulge something, and Gideon couldn't help but think he must have done something epically stupid. It was supposed to have just been a feeding right?

Mitchell scratched at his jawline, huffed out a breath, then realizing they were right in the middle of a walkway pulled Gideon over into an empty conference room so that they'd have a bit of privacy.

"Gideon, it wasn't anything you did, trust me. You came in, told me what Irons had told you. I slit my wrist so you could feed, and you did."

Mitchell turned away from Gideon and paused for so long Gideon thought he was going to leave it at that.

"Yeah mate, I got all that."

Mitchell spun around, face red.

" _You_ didn't do anything Gideon. It was _me_."

AN: I always love comments, so leave me a note if you like it!


	6. Chapter 6

Mitchell stalked off without looking back and headed to medical. He stormed in and yelled out for the doctor.

"Doc! You in here?" When the doctor poked his head out and saw Mitchell, he came out and prepared a syringe. Irons had already called ahead and said the two men were coming in.

"Ah Mitchell, I understand you're having a rough time with the side effects," he said.

Mitchell glared at him and snapped, "Whatever, just give me the fucking stuff that makes it go away, I'm sick of this shit."

The doctor, surprised at the outburst from the usually quiet man, quickly injected him. As Mitchell rolled his sleeve back down and began to walk out, he called out to him.

"Make sure you feed from Gideon in the next hour. Then your transformation will be complete."

Just as the doctor was saying this Gideon walked in to medical, and seeing the exchange between the doctor and Mitchell, stopped but kept quiet.

Mitchell spun around again and pinned the doctor with another glare.

"What transformation? What the hell are you talking about?" He turned to Gideon next. "Gideon, what is going on?"

Gideon walked over to his friend and took him by the arm. "It's ok mate. I was given a bit of information yesterday." Glaring over towards the doctor, Gideon continued. "For whatever reason these knobs felt it a smart move to not include you in on that information, which I will be correcting _shortly_."

Mitchell just huffed. Whatever, he thought.

"I'm going back to my quarters. This is all bullshit man." With that Mitchell left, not saying another word.

Gideon turned back to the doctor.

"I don't know what game you're playing at mate, but this is ridiculous. This had better be the last time me and any of my men are kept in the dark, you understand? Or me and my team are fucking done with this project. Now give me whatever the fuck you're supposed to give me before I really get angry."

Gideon made his way from medical to Mitchell's quarters, which weren't that far from his own. He'd been told to make sure Mitchell had fed from him, then the transformation would be complete, yada, yada, yada. As he got closer to Mitchell's room he heard a crash and then 'fucking bullshit' being said. Gideon could have sworn he'd heard it in his head, it was weird. Mitchell must really be pissed, he thought. He must have yelled it loud enough for Gideon to hear it from the hallway.

Coming up to his door he knocked loudly. There was no reply, but he could hear movement and mumbling inside, so he knocked again louder.

"Mitchell! It's me. Let me in."

More mumbling and then the door was unceremoniously yanked open. Gideon walked in and shut the door behind him, leaning against it as he eyed his friend.

Mitchell was really agitated and it looked like he had knocked a bunch of tablets and other electronics off his table and onto the floor.

Mitchell faced him, hands on his hips. He was wearing an Atlas t-shirt with the standard Atlas issued cargo pants and boots. His sidearm had been pulled off and was sitting on the counter. Gideon caught himself looking and realizing just how lean and powerful Mitchell was.

"Gideon, tell me what's going on. Tell me why these fucked up thoughts are in my head, and why I feel like this." Mitchell turned away and went over to look out his window.

'Tell me why I can't keep inappropriate thoughts about you out of my head.'

Gideon looked up at Mitchell.

"Inappropriate thoughts?" Gideon asked.

Mitchell whipped around.

"What? I didn't say that." Mitchell was wide eyed. Shit, he didn't say that out loud did he? Fuck.

"Yeah you did, I just heard you. You said why can't you keep inappropriate thoughts out of your head."

Mitchell just looked at him.

"No. I did not say that. I _thought_ that. I didn't say it."

Gideon raised his eyebrows at that. He began piecing some things together then.

"Where you in my room this morning? Early? Talking about the upcoming mission?"

Mitchell crossed his arms and looked like Gideon had just sprouted a third eye.

"No man, I never made it out of the common room. After last night, I crashed on the couch, didn't even make it back to my room. Then Torres came in and woke me up and we discussed some of the logistics for the mission."

Gideon sighed, then walked over and grabbed a chair, sitting in it heavily.

"Well, I think I know what our newest 'enhancement' is then. Because I heard you clear as day this morning and I could've sworn you were in my room with me. But when I finally managed to get up, you were nowhere to be seen. I also swear I heard you on the way here. I heard a crash and then you saying 'fucking bullshit'. Figured you'd yelled it loud enough to hear from the hallway."

Mitchell sat down heavily next to Gideon.

"No man, I never said that out loud. So what, are you saying we can read each other's minds or something?"

Mitchell sat back. Well this was interesting. It would explain some things for him as well, like why it seemed like he could hear voices. Yet he hadn't picked up anyone specific, not like Gideon had with him. Realizing that Gideon could now possibly know what was going on in his head, Mitchell realized just what else he may have picked up on and immediately turned beet red, embarrassment setting in big time. He bolted back up out of his chair and turned his back on Gideon, hoping like hell he hadn't caught on.

Gideon was playing with his fingers, looking at the table. He'd seen Mitchell get up, but not his turning red.

"I'm not entirely sure if it's mind reading, or just communicating. I mean, I have no idea what's going through your head right now or anything. But apparently if you feed from me it'll complete whatever this is."

Now here came the tricky part, Gideon thought. He honestly wasn't sure how to broach the whole 'mate' topic. Although, he thought, Mitchell said something about inappropriate thoughts towards him. So perhaps it had already started with Mitchell. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought. While no one had ever accused Gideon of being a coward, he had to admit at this moment right he was feeling less than courageous. He took a deep breath and decided to jump in, both feet first.

"So, there's more to what's going on with us..."

Gideon finished explaining everything Irons had told him about being mated to each other. Gideon had stayed in his seat, looking only at the table, while Mitchell had remained at the window, looking out. Neither looked at the other to gauge reactions.

Mitchell wasn't sure what to say. It was a hell of a surprise to take in. The only thing he could think to ask had to do with the team.

"So, what does this mean. Are Joker, Torres and Ronin mated? There's three of them, how does that work?"

Gideon finally turned to look at his friend.

"No. If I understood correctly, we each choose our own mate, just like we would have outside of Shadow. They all have mates out there somewhere, it just remains to be seen who it is. It could be anyone. That injection we all just took has sped the process up I guess."

Mitchell was still looking out the window, chewing on his thumb.

"No offense man, but I don't think I'm gay. I've always had girlfriends."

Gideon laughed at that. "Yeah mate, same here. Never even looked at another guy in the past. I even told Irons that, but he had some cockamamie story about how it was beyond being gay or straight, that it was more to do with a connection the two of us share that we picked each other."

Mitchell turned around and looked at Gideon. "In the past?"

Gideon quirked an eyebrow at Mitchell and said, "hunh?"

Mitchell smirked. "you said you never looked at a guy _in the past_. Insinuating you've looked at one in the present." Mitchell was teasing, trying to lighten the mood.

Gideon however felt his ears heat up.

"Hey, you said you were having inappropriate thoughts about me, mate," Gideon smirked back. His eyes twinkled as he watched Mitchell's face turn red.

"Fuck me." Mitchell said.

"Hey, that's my line," Gideon laughed.

"So since we are apparently secretly in love or something, why don't we just get everything out. I still don't quite know what happened last night, and something was bugging you big time."

Mitchell scrubbed his hands over his face and into his hair, pulling on it.

"Oh my god I would rather have my teeth pulled then tell you what happened."

Gideon laughed out loud at this. "Oy, then it sounds like a good story. You got any beer in here? Let's get shit faced and tell our secrets."

When Mitchell nodded over to his fridge Gideon went over and pulled beers out, tossing one to his friend. They both sat on the couch, one at each end. Gideon saluted Mitchell with his bottle and then said "out with it kid."

Mitchell drowned half his beer in one swig, face still red.

"Fuck do I really have to tell you what happened? Can't we just do the whole 'what you don't know won't hurt you thing'?"

Gideon just looked at him with a smirk. "Ab-so-fucking-lutely not."

Mitchell rolled his eyes, then blurted it all out.

"Fine. When you started to feed from me, I felt like I was out of control, like my body took over or something. It was really weird. These weird ass feelings came over me, like I was on a drug high. Then it went from feeling like I was high to...ugh..well...fuck...tofeelinglikeIwashornyasfuckandthenIkissedyou."

Gideon sat up. "You kissed me? Like a peck on the cheek or full on kiss?"

Mitchell had his head in his hands at this point, embarrassment so strong he couldn't look at Gideon.

"Man does it matter?"

"Hell yeah it does. Was it a chaste Mitchell kiss or a down and dirty kiss?"

Mitchell looked up at Gideon, trying to figure out if he was serious or shitting him. It was hard to tell. His face was serious but he did have a twinkle in his eye.

"Did I kiss you back? I don't remember."

Mitchell chuffed, he couldn't believe they were discussing this. He sat back, drank the rest of his beer, then looked Gideon straight in the eye and said, "It was hard and dirty and you kissed me back like your life depended on it"

Gideon felt a thrill go up his spine. For some reason that totally turned him on.

"Then you stumbled out of the room and I passed out. I woke up the next morning with the hardest damn boner I've ever had in my life. And before I could get rid of it, Torres came in and then we had the briefing and I've had to deal with it all damn day."

At that Mitchell got up and grabbed more beer for himself and Gideon. He really wished he could get drunk so that he could forget all of this. Gideon was quiet, no doubt thinking Mitchell was a total freak. He went back to his window, not wanting to see Gideon's face. If this ended their friendship Mitchell would kill Irons. Gideon was the best friend he'd ever had.

Suddenly Mitchell was aware of Gideon at his back. Gideon wrapped his arms around Mitchell, pinning his arms to his side, his mouth by his ear.

"If you think this will kill our friendship, then you don't think very highly of me," he said. Pulling Mitchell back in to his chest, he said, "Let's finish this."

He took Mitchell's beer and set it down, never unpinning his arms. He began to nuzzle Mitchell's neck right in the sweet spot where neck meets shoulder. He licked the vein and sucked on it, causing it to push up to the surface of the skin and then slowly sank his fangs in. As the sweet, coppery liquid rushed in Gideon felt himself being taken over again with the feelings of euphoria. This time however, he felt more in control of himself. He felt Mitchell relax in to him, one pinned arm moving up enough to lay on top of Gideon's arm. Gideon brought the other arm up to Mitchell's chest, right over his heart. He could feel Mitchell's strong beat speed up and heard a strangled 'fuck' come from him. Mitchell pushed back slightly, against Gideon's groin and suddenly those waves of euphoria melted into waves of pleasure. He could feel himself go achingly hard as he continued to feed. Looking up he could see their reflection in the window, two pairs of intensely glowing eyes looking back at him. Mitchell grabbed Gideon's hand, the one over his chest and brought it to his mouth, and bit down into his wrist. They were both feeding from each other and suddenly, in addition to waves of pure sexual pleasure, both men could see waves of memories flashing past, rapid fire, each man realizing that what he saw belonged to the other.

When Gideon released Mitchell's neck, Mitchell did the same to Gideon's wrist. Gideon spun him around and pushed him up against the wall. Mitchell saw silvery glowing eyes, irises circled in deep blue. It was like looking into an ice storm. Gideon was breathing hard and erratic and seemed to be looking straight through him.

Gideon looked into Mitchell's eyes, taking in the deepest shade of blue he'd ever seen. An unnatural blue, glowing with such intensity it was hypnotizing. Grabbing Mitchell by the collar he pulled him in and kissed him hard, grinding his hips against Mitchell's. Their tongues warred with each other for dominance, each man trying to reign.

Breaking the kiss for just a moment, Mitchell yanked on Gideon's shirt, pulling it off of him. He then pushed him on the chest towards the bed, forcing Gideon down on to his back. Mitchell climbed back up on top of Gideon, knees on either side of his legs. The waves of pleasure that had been rolling through both men during the feeding were still there, amping up every touch, every kiss. It was intoxicating, and neither wanted it to end.

Mitchell was kissing Gideon again, along his jaw line, behind his ear, then worked his way down to the collarbone. Gideon moaned in pleasure, back arching into his touch. Mitchell let his fangs out and slid them down Gideon's chest, over one of his nipples. Gideon choked out a hoarse 'fuck' at the sensation of the sharp points raking down his skin. When he got down to his waist Mitchell undid the button and zipper and pulled off pants and boots. There was no hesitation to wrapping his hand around Gideon's cock and stroking. Gideon's hands bunched into the bed spread at the feel of Mitchell's hand on him, and when he felt a hot, wet tightness around his balls it was everything he could do to not spill right then and there.

Mitchell sucked one, then the other, testicle into his mouth, then let go and ran his tongue up Gideon's cock. He circled the head, licking the pre-cum at the tip, then took his entire length into him, careful not cause any harm with his fangs. Gideon could only moan and writhe. He could feel Mitchell's tongue working magic, his lips a tight suction, and the scrape of his fangs along the sides of his cock. It was the most intense feeling he had ever experienced. He ran his fingers through Mitchell's hair, bobbing his hips up into his mouth. He could feel his balls tighten and knew he couldn't hold out. Feeling the same thing, Mitchell knew Gideon was at his limit and he tightened the suction even more, milking him for all he was worth. A few seconds later and he felt Gideon spill into him as he cried out, hips bucking. Mitchell took everything Gideon gave before releasing him.

Gideon was up faster than normal and had Mitchell on his feet ripping his shirt off and then pants and boots, and then on his back on the bed. Gideon climbed on him and kissed his hard, sucking his bottom lip and biting it. Gideon had one hand on Mitchell's cock and other on his chest, massaging both. He sucked on his skin on his neck and down his pecs. He traced the Marines tattoo on his left side with his tongue, then the Atlas tattoo on the right. When he got to Mitchell's nipples though, he one-upped the man and bit into it with his fangs, and drew on it hard. Mitchell cried out and arched into him hard. It felt amazing. Gideon worked his way down, sucking on his hip bones, dragging his fingernails down his legs. He grabbed Mitchell's cock and deep throated him quickly, causing Mitchell to almost come up off the bed. Cupping his balls in one hand Gideon used his tongue and lips up and down Mitchell's length. Gideon couldn't get over how good he tasted. Taking him deep he swallowed and Mitchell groaned out 'fuck!'. He kept it up and could feel Mitchell ready to explode. Gideon suddenly let go and then reached up grabbed Mitchell's hands, pulling him up to his feet. Gideon knelt down and took his cock into his mouth again, urging Mitchell to move his hips. Mitchell had his hands in Gideon's hair and began to pump into his mouth, feeling his release work its way up his cock. Gideon tightened down even more with his mouth and swallowed and at the same time squeezed his balls, sending Mitchell over the edge. Mitchell cried out as he came hard, Gideon never letting go until he had completely milked him.

When he got to his feet, Mitchell looked pale and shaky. He looked at Gideon and just said 'holy fuck'.

Gideon felt the same way. He felt wobbly on his legs, and so he crawled back onto the bed, Mitchell following him. They both passed out just as they got a blanket wrapped around themselves.


	7. Chapter 7

Gideon and the team landed just outside the area they were to search, then moved in on foot to remain undetected. The goal was to get in unseen and gather any information they could on a possible location for Sentinel and who or what Kingpin was, then get out. Their scanners showed a handful of life signs, so nothing the team couldn't handle if they did end up being detected, but the goal was still stealth.

They made their way in through two separate entry points and began making their way through the rooms. Most rooms seemed to be storage areas, others housed machinery that probably kept the building operational.

Gideon motioned for Mitchell and Torres to follow him while keeping an eye on his scanner to follow Joker and Ronin's progress. Joker chirped in Gideon's headset.

"You finding anything boss? We're negative on our end. Preparing to search a lower level."

Gideon spoke quietly into his com.

"Negative on our end as well. We're moving up one level, main room in the center."

"Copy that," came the reply.

The three men moved silently up the stairs, rifles at the ready. The scanners showed the life signs they saw earlier were all congregated on the upper-most floor. They cleared the hallways anyways, confirming no one was around, then quietly made their way into a room.

The room was full of command centers and other electronics. Bingo. Gideon motioned to the other two men to link up and upload any information they could find. Mitchell and Torres hacked in to the systems and began collecting information while Gideon kept his eyes open for any threats.

"How's it coming gents?" He asked.

"Almost done," came two replies.

Gideon's com chirped again but neither Joker nor Ronin said anything. He looked down at his scanner to check their position and noticed they weren't lit up.

"Joker, come in. What's your position?"

Silence.

"Joker, do you copy? Ronin, do you copy?"

Again, silence. Fuck, he thought. He saw no other life signs on his scanner, even the ones they had marked on their way in. Where the hell had they all gone?

He turned to Mitchell.

"We may have a problem…."

Before Gideon could finish a flash bang was thrown into the room, blinding and deafening the three of them. The force of it had thrown Gideon down to the ground, losing his rifle in the process. How had he not seen or heard men coming up on them and throwing a damn flash at them, he thought angrily.

Shaking his head to try and clear it he scrambled for his rifle and took cover behind a desk. Mitchell and Torres had done the same.

' _Gideon, I don't see or hear anyone. Where the hell did that come from_?' Mitchell thought to him.

' _I have no fucking idea. I didn't see or hear anything either, and I still can't_.'

Gideon peeked out but saw nothing. Had they left? What was the point of knocking them down only to then leave? He carefully leaned his rifle out from behind cover and almost immediately gun fire opened up on him. So there was someone out there, he thought. Torres threw a threat grenade in the direction of the gunfire. It went off, but nothing lit up.

"What the hell?" Torres muttered. He looked over at Mitchell, who was scanning the area. Looking back over at Torres he shrugged.

"I don't see anyone."

Mitchell pulled a small piece of equipment off the desk he was behind, then threw it. Gun fire once again opened up.

"Why can't we see them?" Torres asked angrily.

Gideon wasn't sure what was going on. He told Mitchell to throw a frag grenade on his count, and to relay the same to Torres. Mitchell nodded, caught Torres' attention and told him to get ready.

On Gideon's count all three threw a frag grenade in the general direction of the gun fire. However once they exploded there was a sudden rush of, something, into the room they were in from the opposite side of where the gunfire had been. Gideon registered in the back of his mind a waving of the air in front of him right before something slammed in to him like a mack truck. He heard Mitchell and Torres get hit and soon it seemed like all hell had broken loose. The air was shimmering but that was all he could see as something began to pummel him.

Feeling his blood lust kick in he let his fangs out and began to hit back at the shimmery air in front of him. He was surprised when he heard a grunt and it felt like he was hitting a man. He yelled at the others to hit back at the shimmery air and it soon began to sound like a bar fight.

Gideon managed to get his – whatever it was – into a bear hug and struggled with it when Joker and Ronin came running in, rifles at the ready.

They came to a halt, wide-eyed.

"What the fuck Gideon?!" Joker yelled, wanting to shoot but not sure where to aim.

"Fucking shoot him Joker!" Gideon yelled.

But Joker couldn't, he couldn't see anything. It looked like Gideon was just hugging air.

Suddenly Mitchell came sliding over a desk on his back and fell off onto the floor, bleeding profusely from his head. Someone had thrown him hard. Gideon was distracted for a split second, which was all his assailant needed to bring his foot down on Gideon's instep, throw an elbow to the groin and do a reverse head butt to Gideon's face. Gideon went down hard with the assailant on top of him, who wasted no time in flipping around and straddling Gideon, placing what felt like a knife to Gideon's throat. Gideon froze, hands up by his head.

He looked over and saw Mitchell being dragged up someone who was now visible, hands clutched around Mitchell's collar. Suddenly the person holding him at knifepoint became visible, and a very mean-looking face stared back at him. Gideon spotted a Sentinel patch on the man's jumpsuit. Fuck me, he thought.

He was dragged up to his knees and was able to see the rest of his team had been subdued, all on their knees, hands behind their heads. A bit of shimmery air came towards him and morphed into a man wearing an exo-suit, Sentinel jumpsuit and heavily armed. The man stood in front of Gideon, taking in his fangs and eerie eyes.

"So, it is real. Irons has indeed created a freak show. I wasn't sure it was really true." The man looked at the rest of his team, sizing them up.

"Which of you is the commander of this little circus?" The man asked. Before Gideon could speak he heard Mitchell speak up.

"I am. We will fucking bury you."

Gideon was furious. What the hell was he doing? He would be the first killed by claiming to be in command. Mitchell looked over at him.

' _It's all good boss. I've got this. Get the team out of here._ '

' _YOU FUCKING ASS!_ ' Gideon screamed in his head.

Before Gideon could contradict Mitchell to the mystery man, he had walked over to Mitchell.

"Good. Secure him and get him loaded in the bird. I have uses for him."

The man then walked back over to Gideon, pulled his side arm and shot Gideon, Torres and Joker in the heart.


	8. Chapter 8

Before Mitchell could register the fact his team was just executed, he was hit upside the head, rendering him unconscious.

He woke briefly to find himself chained, literally, to the inside of a war bird. He couldn't see out of one eye and the other wasn't working so hot. One of his captors, seeing he was awake, moved over and roughly yanked a black hood over his head, whispered "nighty night", then hit him, knocking him out once again.

When he woke again, he found himself on his back in a concrete room, chains around his ankles and connecting to the floor, and chains around both wrists running up the wall and into some kind of pulley system. There was a large drain in the center of the room. He had his pants on, but his shirt, boots and socks had been removed. His head was pounding and his left eye was completely swollen shut.

He sat up gingerly, somewhat surprised he hadn't healed already. Taking a look around he noticed the room was fairly bare. There was a table with one chair and what looked to be a large rucksack on the floor. On the wall was what he guessed to be a two-way mirror.

He called up the images of Gideon being shot and his heart rate accelerated alarmingly. He began to quietly panic, Gideon could NOT be dead he thought.

He focused his mind, trying to quiet it.

 _'Gideon?! Gideon are you ok? Please tell me you're ok!'_

There was no response. Mitchell didn't know what to do. He knew they could heal from just about anything. But did that include being shot through the heart at point blank? Was that too much even for them?

Mitchell tried again, but with no luck. He felt helpless, yet at the same time he could feel a rage boiling up inside of him. He tested his bindings, but as expected they didn't budge, even with his enhanced strength. He stood up, working out the kinks and wanting to be ready for whatever came next.

He didn't have to wait long when the door opened and the man who had shot his team walked in, followed by a second man wheeling in a cart with various implements and what looked like a hose. Great, he thought to himself. Mitchell tried to prepare himself mentally for what was about to come.

"So Mr. Mitchell, I see you're awake and ready to go. Wonderful."

Smiling, the man sat down, crossing his legs. He looked like he was sitting down for tea, not a session of torture.

"Shall we begin with the easy route first? Tell me what you know about Shadow, and how to replicate it."

Mitchell just looked at the man like he was nuts. He snorted at the man. "As if", he snarled.

Tilting his head to the side, that same eerie smile on his face, the man responded.

"Well I tried. Martinez, help him up if you please."

The man who had come in with the cart, Martinez, walked over to the wall where two switches and a crank where, and began to turn the crank. Slowly the chains attached to Mitchell's wrists where hoisted up. The man stopped cranking the wheel when Mitchell was almost hanging, big toes barely touching the floor. The chains dug into his wrists painfully. Mitchell centered his mind to help him withstand the pain about to be inflicted.

His jailer continued.

"One more time before we get started. Save yourself the pain and tell me what you know about Shadow and how to replicate it."

Mitchell shook his head, looking the man right in the eyes.

"Fuck you."

"I thought as much, but as you know, I must try." Looking over his shoulder, he said "Go ahead and get started then."

Martinez nodded and without saying a word wheeled the cart closer to Mitchell, but out of range of his legs should he try to kick at it.

He pulled the hose off and attached it to a spigot in the wall that Mitchell hadn't noticed. Then he pulled out what looked like old fashioned jumper cables attached to a small generator. He pulled out a pair of rubber gloves and put them on, then plugged in the generator and Mitchell heard static come from it. Shit, he thought, this is going to suck big time.

The man then went over and turned the hose on and proceeded to shower Mitchell down, completely soaking him in the icy cold water. The he grabbed the cables and walked over and pressed them up against Mitchell's chest.

Mitchell's body arched up as the electricity flowed through him. He couldn't help but scream at the sensation of being electrocuted. The pain was immense, but he said nothing.

The jailer nodded at Martinez again, and the man walked back over and placed the cables on his chest. Mitchell's screams could be heard all the way down the hallway.

* * *

Gideon woke with what sounded like screams in his head. Ronin was crouched over him, shaking him.

"Stop shaking me already Ronin," Gideon mumbled. His chest hurt like a motherfucker. He struggled to sit up, Ronin helping. He looked over and saw Torres was already back up, Joker was on his back but conscious and moaning.

Goddamn, Gideon thought. He'd barely had time to register what that fucker was going to do before he fired. Torres must've read his mind.

"I didn't know we could survive something like that," he said.

Gideon just shook his head. "Me either mate. Me either."

Mitchell. Fuck.

"Does anyone know what happened to Mitchell?"

Joker answered first. "I was the last one to get shot, but it happened so fast. I think I saw them cold-cock him."

Gideon had to think. They had taken Mitchell, the lack of a body made that obvious. He relaxed his mind and tried to reach out to him. He had a hard time focusing though, so he tried again when suddenly his head was filled with an unbearable scream. Gideon gasped out loud, bringing his hands up to the side of his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Captain, you ok?" Ronin asked. Torres and Joker looked worried, they'd never seen Gideon do anything like that.

Another scream ripped through Gideon's mind and he cried out with the pain.

"Uhhhhfuckme!" he yelled. He came down on his knees, Ronin trying to support him.

"Boss, what the fuck is going on man?" Joker asked nervously. Was this a result of being shot?

Finally his head quieted. Gideon was breathing hard, sweating. He opened his eyes and saw his men around him, looking very worried. He sat back on his heels and wiped his face.

"They have Mitchell. They're torturing him," he rasped.

"How the hell do you know that?" Torres asked. "We didn't see what happened to him after that fucker shot us."

"I, I can hear him," Gideon said.

Ronin was looking hard at Gideon.

"You two are mated, aren't you?" Came his quiet question.

Joker and Torres's eyebrows were up to their hairline at that.

"Say what?" Joker asked.

Gideon sighed. He knew his men would find out eventually. Hell they had every right to know as it could possibly affect the team. But Ronin cut in again.

"The glowing eyes, that made me wonder. But you saying you can hear him means it's true, right?" Ronin asked evenly, his poker face perfectly neutral.

Torres looked at Ronin, "How do you know that? Where did you hear it?" He looked at Gideon, "Is it true?"

Gideon just nodded. He wasn't sure how his men would react to this. It could make or break them.

"Irons told me all about how we'll all find mates when they gave me this latest injection. I thought he was full of crap. But the doctor rambled on about special 'enhancements' we might get once mated'. Sounded like a bunch of bull shit to me. But I guess not." Ronin then shrugged one shoulder, as if to say, whatever man.

"So what does that mean?"

"Dude are you boinking Mitchell?"

Rapid fire questions came from Joker and Torres. Gideon put his hands up to make them stop.

"Yes, apparently we are mated. I was as surprised as you are by it. And yes, it also means we can talk to each other, telepathically or, mind thought or whatever the fuck you want to call it."

Fixing Joker with a hard look Gideon added, "And boinking or anything else related to that is _so_ not being discussed with you lot."

Joker suddenly leaned over and punched Gideon in the arm, knocking him over.

"Man, you should've told us about this. How long have you known?" He stood up and walked off. Gideon wasn't sure if Joker was mad at not being told or mad at the whole 'mated to a team member' part. Right now it didn't matter. He got up, looking for his weapon.

"Weapons are gone." Ronin said. Gideon sighed again. Of course they are, he thought.

"Let's get the fuck out of here. Joker, radio Prophet and tell him to get us airborne ASAP. We need to regroup and figure out where Mitchell is."

Joker's eager 'on it boss' comforted Gideon slightly. They all began to make their way out to the exfil point, hoping like hell they didn't run in to anyone since they had no weapons.

Torres came up beside Gideon as they walked.

"So if you can talk to him, maybe he can tell us where he is. Damn, that whole mind talk thing could come in really fucking handy." He laughed.

Gideon chuckled. "I'm trying to call him, but it's quiet. He's not responding to me."

Torres could hear the apprehension in Gideon's voice. He patted his Captain on the back.

"We'll get him back Captain, don't worry. He's a tough kid."

* * *

Mitchell sputtered awake when he was doused with icy water. He must have passed out after the last round of electricity. His body hurt so bad he could barely think straight. He wished he'd heal, even a little bit, to take the edge off.

When his eyes focused he saw his torturer leaning against the table, arms crossed and legs crossed at the ankles, looking at his fingernails.

"I'm sure by now you're wondering why you haven't healed. One of the few things we've been able to gather about Shadow is the remarkable ability to heal. While I haven't been able to rid you of that little perk, I've made sure to lessen the ability. So you'll heal just enough to stay alive, but not enough to overcome your pain. It's actually quite a lovely problem, for me. I can work on you much longer than a normal person."

Mitchell was looking forward to ripping this man to shreds, the sadistic bastard.

"You'll be happy to know that we're stopping the electrocution for now. It's time for a change of scenery."

And with that, Martinez unrolled the bundle of knives he'd pulled out of the rucksack on the floor.

"So, Mitchell, tell me, please, what you know about Shadow."

"Go to hell."

Martinez walked towards him and slashed him across the chest, opening a deep gash. Mitchell grunted and tried to hold on. The man kept cutting, but Mitchell refused to talk. Instead he tried to reach Gideon again. He hadn't been able to find him and with each minute he was more convinced that his team had indeed been killed.

 _'Giddddeeeooonnn'_

Slice.

 _'JesusfuckingChrist MITCHELL!'_

Mitchell threw his head back and cried out, not because of the pain but because he finally heard Gideon.

 _'Gideonithurtssobad'_

 _'Hold on kid, we'll find you. I promise.'_

 _'Is…team…ok'_

 _'Yes mate, we're all in one piece. Where are you?'_

Mitchell was finding that by focusing his mind on talking to Gideon he wasn't feeling as much of the pain from the knives. He held on to that.

 _'I..don't..know. Sentinel has me. In room. Hanging from chains. Used right now.'_

Gideon and the team had made it back to their exfil and were heading back to Atlas when Gideon heard him.

He had gone rigid and closed his eyes. He opened them to find his team looking at him.

"I found him, he's alive, for now. He's being tortured. He's chained in a room with Sentinel agents."

Gideon faltered for a second, wiping his hand over his head, pulling his beanie off.

"They, uh, been electrocuting him and it seems they've moved on to knives."

As one he could feel the rage boil up, not only in himself, but his team. Ronin's eyes had turned deadly.

"Fucking sons of bitches!" Joker spat out, slamming his hand against the side of the bird.

"What are they trying to get from him?" Torres asked, his jaw clenched.

Shaking his head, Gideon asked.

 _'Mitchell, stay tough man. What are they trying to get from you? Do you have any ideas where you are so we can find you?'_

 _'They want to know about Shadow. How to copy it. Don't know where. Was hooded.'_

Gideon swore. He relayed the information to the men. They needed something to go on to try and track him down.

 _'Shit. OK. Listen, I know this is probably a stupid thing to say, but try and stay strong. We're headed back to Atlas to regroup and re-arm. We'll formulate a plan to get you out of there. In the meantime keep your ears and eyes open for anything that might help locate you.'_

Mitchell started to respond but it ended in a loud cry.

"Goddamn mother fuckers. We have got to find him." Gideon said, head in his hands.

An hour later they arrived back at Atlas. It had been a very quiet flight. Gideon was furious at Mitchell for putting himself in this position, sacrificing himself for the team. It should've been Gideon in that room. Gideon stewed in his anger, refusing to acknowledge the feelings behind the anger – the terror at what Mitchell was going through, and how much it was impacting Gideon. He really couldn't deny his feelings for Mitchell that ran beyond that of team member and best friend.

As they disembarked they all saw Irons standing at the landing pad. As the men approached Irons barked at them.

"In my office, now, gentlemen."

Once inside the five men made their way to the uppermost floor, walking past the cute little blond who manned the front desk and was the first layer of buffer zone between Iron's office and the rest of Atlas.

Irons strode in through the double doors, indicating the chairs to the sides with both arms.

"Have a seat."

The men did as ordered, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. They had no idea what to expect from him. Irons stood at his window, looking out over his domain. Gideon knew better than to speak until he was told. Irons finally sighed, then turned slowly around to face the Captain.

"What happened out there son?" he asked quietly.

Gideon swallowed. He couldn't peg Irons' mood at all. The quiet question could be one of silent rage, or utter concern. No way to tell.

Gideon began to recount everything that had happened, ending with Mitchell being taken and all four of them being shot point blank.

"So these men were not only invisible, but also invisible to the scanners?" Irons asked, sitting down in the big chair behind his desk.

"Yes sir. We had them on our scanners when we first arrived. We were several rooms and one floor away from them when we got to the room with the command consoles. When they attacked, it just looked like, wavy, air. Our scanners didn't pick them up, and neither did our threat grenades."

Irons was rubbing his finger over his lip. "Interesting. I was hoping to experiment with that kind of technology. Guess Sentinel beat me to it."

"And what of Mitchell. Why was he taken, over the rest of you?"

Gideon read that for what is was – why was it Mitchell taken and not Gideon, the commander of the team?

Gideon looked down, fidgeting with his fingers. "Sir, before I could speak up Mitchell claimed he was the one in charge of our team. I think he was hoping to sacrifice himself to save the rest of us. But then before we could really react they shot us."

Irons watched Gideon explain. He could read the man well and knew he was mad as hell at one of his team members sacrificing himself before Gideon could. He could also see the concern etched on his face for the man he was mated to.

"Captain, I don't blame you, or any members of your team for the events that transpired. If there is a positive in all of this, it's that some of the intel you uploaded completed before you were ambushed. Not a lot, but I have our techs pouring over it. Perhaps we can narrow down the search area on Mitchell.

Have you been able to communicate with him?"

Gideon nodded, looking even more uncomfortable.

"He was able to tell me he had been blindfolded on the way in. He's currently in a room, chained up. They, uh, they've been torturing him with electrocution and cutting. They want to know about Shadow, and apparently how to replicate it."

Irons remained quiet, but his face finally showed a glimpse of rage. His logical brain couldn't fault them for what they were doing to Mitchell. He was doing the same thing to their man. His emotional brain, however, was mad as hell and ready to go on a rampage. Tamping that part down, he leaned over to his com and signaled Ilona, asking her to meet with him in a half hour.

"OK men. I want you all to go down to medical and get cleared. Then I want you fed and rested. We will meet again in five hours. By then the techs should be done. I will have Ilona work Knox to see if she can get a location out of him for where Mitchell may be. Dismissed."

The men nodded and stood up, turning to leave.

"Rest assured gentlemen, we _will_ bring Mitchell home. We don't leave our men behind."

Gideon nodded at Irons, then headed out. It wasn't lost on Gideon that Irons didn't say they'd get Mitchell back _alive_.

The men all cleared through medical with no issues, but making the doctor very excited to update his Shadow files on the fact that a point blank shot through the heart was survivable. They then all trekked down to the mess hall and pretended to eat. Their hearts weren't in it. Gideon looked at them all.

"Get some rest men. Before we move out, we all feed. From each other. I want every available advantage over these fuckers."

The three men nodded at their Captain, all of them on the same page. They would feed and be strong and bring their man home.

Back in his quarters, Gideon left the lights off. He removed his exo-suit and undressed down to just his pants and a t-shirt, then sat on the floor, back up against the bed. He pulled his knees up to his chest.

He closed his eyes and tried to reach out to Mitchell. He'd been quiet after that last cry, but Gideon felt like he was still there, still holding on it. He couldn't explain it. He imagined Mitchell had passed out.

 _'Mitchell, you ok mate?'_

No response came. Gideon felt himself doze off, head on his arms which were braced on his knees.

He jolted when he thought he heard something. He called out again.

 _'Mitchell?'_

 _'Jack, are you ok?'_

Finally Gideon heard his voice.

 _'Hey Gid. I must've passed out again. The room's empty. Maybe they're done for a bit. I wish I could heal.'_

 _'What? Why can't you heal?'_

 _'They gave me something to prevent any healing beyond keeping me alive. At least they put me back on the floor.'_

Mitchell's voice was strained, tired. Gideon felt like his heart was breaking, that Mitchell was having to endure this.

 _'It should be me in there Jack, not you.'_

 _'I knew what I was doing Gid. Wanted to save you.'_

 _'I'm going to fucking kill you when we find you.'_

Mitchell just chuckled, then started coughing and cried out in pain.

 _'God it hurts.'_

 _'I'm so fucking sorry mate. I wish I could trade places with you.'_

 _'Just talk to me Gid. It helps. Helps take my mind of it.'_

Gideon smiled to himself. That he could do. He'd do anything to help him.

 _'So, we never got to really talk about the other night.'_

Mitchell laughed/coughed/groaned again.

 _'Oh my god, you want to talk about what happened? You are such a girl.'_

Gideon laughed out loud at that snarky comment.

 _'Show me a girl that could suck you off as well as I did you shit.'_

Despite his bold words Gideon felt his face flame at them. To be honest, it might be easier to talk about all of this via mind, rather than face to face.

 _'Damn, well you got me on that count. I honestly can't think of any girl I've been with giving me head like you did.'_

 _'So what does that make us? Are we gay? I don't feel gay. I still like women.'_

Mitchell chuckled on his end.

 _'Maybe we're bi. Maybe we're just bi for each other. I've certainly never looked at another man. But I can't deny what I feel with you.'_

Gideon didn't respond to that. Hearing Mitchell say that did something to him. It justified the feelings he was having a hard time admitting to.

 _'Yeah, maybe that's it. I've been trying to deny my feelings as well, just because it seems so out there. But the truth is, I feel the same way. I don't think I'll be ogling any other men out there.'_

 _'Better not you hussy.'_

Gideon laughed again. He was relieved that Mitchell could still hold on to some semblance of humor.

 _'So the rest of the team know about us. I don't think they're bothered by it, other than angry I didn't say anything. Which they have a right to.'_

 _'That's good. Good.'_

Mitchell's voice was starting to trail off.

 _'Mitchell, get some sleep if you can. You'll need your strength.'_

 _'Copy that',_ whispered Mitchell.

 _'Stay strong buddy'_ , Gideon whispered back, but Mitchell was already asleep.

Gideon wiped the tears that were falling silently, then crawled in to his bed for a couple of hours of shut eye. He would need his strength as well.


	9. Chapter 9

The team was gathered in the briefing room, somewhat rested but very much on edge. Joker was pacing, Torres sat at the table, legs bouncing, Ronin sat deathly still while sharpening his knife with a stone. Gideon just stood in the corner, arms crossed.

It was a few minutes before Irons finally arrived, Ilona behind him. Hoping her appearance meant good news, Gideon strode for the table, sitting as his men followed. Irons and Ilona sat, Ilona setting down a tablet and scrolling, pulling up various windows.

Irons began the briefing.

"OK, we may have a little bit of information. Between the intel your team was able to collect and that which Ilona was able to pry out of our guest, we have a general idea where Mitchell may be."

Gideon let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Ilona spoke up.

"We don't have a specific location, but we think they're in the States, in the Michigan area."

Gideon was cautiously optimistic, but his ornery side wasn't going to jump in joy just ye.

"And how certain are we of this?"

Irons filled him in.

"While we didn't find anything specific, we did find bits of reports in the intel you found that showed deliveries being made. We could only determine that it was somewhere in Michigan unfortunately, but it's something to go on. Again from the fragments it seems large equipment, heavy vehicles and arms, as well as troops were routinely assigned."

Ilona leaned in, adding, "When I questioned Knox, I asked him pointed questions about Michigan. He refused to answer but on those questions his heart rate accelerated, indicating that we may indeed be on the correct path."

The briefing continued for another two hours. At one point Gideon suddenly went still, closing his eyes and putting his head down. Torres, who sat next to him and knew what was going on, put his hand on Gideon's shoulder and squeezed, offering support. Ronin and Joker became tense as well, and when Gideon cried out quietly Ronin stood up in anger, throwing his knife into the wall.

Irons said nothing, waiting for Gideon to regain control. When Gideon finally sat back and slumped in his chair, he spoke.

"I have already ordered war birds to the area for aerial reconnaissance. I've ordered a high level search though, I don't want to give it away that we may be on to them and allow them time to relocate before we can move in. They should arrive within the hour. I want your team ready to suit up at 0500. You'll move out and begin a ground search."

With that, Irons stood and left the room. The rest of the team stayed behind, wanting to give Gideon a moment. Ilona had stood, but hadn't left yet. She sniffed the air, then looked at the members of Gideon's team. She narrowed her eyes at Joker, pulling in another breath of air, then collected her tablet and left the room, nodding at the team as she went.

This time, when Mitchell woke up, he found himself facing his jailer, who he had decided to name The Baron due to the way he moved and talked, like he was nobility. His trusty sadist stood behind and to the side.

Mitchell stood up, working out the kinks from laying on the concrete, chains clacking together.

"You back for more fun with your cables and knives?" He asked snarkily. "I still won't tell you anything."

The Baron smiled, standing there with his hands behind his back, looking smug.

"I must admit Mr. Mitchell, you've proven a worthy foe. Most men would have either given in and talked by now, or simply given up and died. Your perseverance in maintaining your silence despite our attempts to pry information out of you is impressive."

Martinez walked over to the wall and began to turn the crank, hoisting Mitchell's arms back up. This time though he left him on his feet, instead of dangling.

He walked back to the table and dug around his rucksack, finally deciding on and removing what looked like an old fashioned metal baseball bat.

Mitchell let out a sigh. "I still won't talk, so you might as well kill me now."

The Baron tsk'd at him. "Now, where is the sport in that? We still have a few tricks in the bag, so to speak," he said, tilting his head towards the rucksack.

"Why not simply end this and tell us what we want to know?"

Mitchell just looked at the man. He was tired, in pain, hungry. But nothing this man did to him could get him to talk.

"Why not just create your own version of this and be done with it? You obviously have the tech to do it, if your little invisible show of force was any indication."

The Baron nodded his head, almost like he was considering his words.

"Well the thing is, we only want one thing with Shadow. To replicate it and bring Atlas down, once and for all. There is only room for one of us!"

Mitchell saw exactly when The Baron began to lose his shit slightly. The man began to pace the room, agitated. Mitchell could do nothing but track him.

"We will bring Atlas and Johnathon Irons, to their fucking knees. He will beg for our mercy by the time we are done with him." By now The Baron was gritting his teeth with the force of his anger.

Mitchell knew as soon as the words left his lips it was the wrong thing to say, but somehow he couldn't keep himself from uttering them.

"Sentinel will burn in hell before Atlas ever kneels down to you," Mitchell spat.

The Baron, red faced with anger, walked over and grabbed the bat and swung as hard as he could. Mitchell grunted out in pain as he felt ribs break. The Baron swung again, and again, and again. Mitchell finally cried out in pain as the man battered his ribs with the bat. The Baron then yelled at Martinez to lower Mitchell and to make him kneel. Martinez complied, kicking Mitchell's legs out to force him to kneel. The Baron the proceeded to punch Mitchell repeatedly in the face, kicking him in the sides, pushing broken bits of ribs up into his lungs, puncturing them. He then took the bat to his arms, breaking both arms instantly.

When Mitchell began to cough blood and pass out, his breathing shallow and wet, Martinez managed to get in between him and The Baron to make him stop.

"Sir, forgive me, but if you continue he will die."

The Baron, panting hard, stood back, throwing the bat to the ground.

"You're very right. Give him something to reverse the suppressant. I want him healed so that I can repeat this process."

Martinez did as ordered, and 30 minutes later Mitchell began to awaken, feeling better than he had since he'd first arrived.

"Don't get used to that," Martinez told him. He pushed a button on the wall, apparently indicating to whoever was outside that Mitchell was awake. The Baron strode back in, looking much calmer.

"I will take you to the brink of death, then heal you, and repeat this process until you either tell me what I want to know, or you go bat-shit crazy."

Mitchell said nothing, and continued to say nothing while Martinez beat him. Martinez was calm and methodical, breaking both arms and legs repeatedly, making sure to inflict maximum pain without killing him.

Just before he thought he would finally lose consciousness the com unit on The Baron's arm beeped and voice spoke.

"Major, we have orders to evacuate the premises immediately. Atlas war birds have been spotted surveilling the area."

The Baron looked furious at this.

"On whose orders Corporal? I'm right in the middle of an interrogation!" He yelled.

"This comes straight down from KingPin sir."

The Baron swore.

"Martinez, get packed up and drag him out of here. Make sure he is heavily secured." Barons strode out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

Martinez nodded, already packing up his rucksack. "Yes sir."

He walked over to the wall and loosened the crank allowing the chains to loosen and Mitchell immediately collapsed, his shattered arms and legs completely useless. Realizing Mitchell would not be able to walk, Martinez removed the chains and zip tied his hands behind him, making him cry out from the pain of his broken arms. He then zip tied his feet and hefted Mitchell over his shoulder and carried him out.

Mitchell tried to stifle the pain of being carried over the shoulder of Martinez. Wending through hallways and rooms he tried to see and take in as many details as he could, but nothing really stood out to him. Thinking it may provide him some cover, he acted as if unconscious. He saw daylight when Martinez went through a door and outside to a waiting unmarked military vehicle. He was thrown roughly into the back. Luckily due to the small space in the back, his upper body remained somewhat upright, and he could see out the back window. He continued to feign unconsciousness, hoping that they wouldn't blindfold him if they thought him out. With luck it seemed they were in such a hurry to get out of the area that after three Sentinel members as well as Martinez were seated, they took off.

 _'Gideon can you hear me?'_

Gideon stood up, completely alert.

 _'Jack what's going on mate?'_

 _'They spotted our war bird, we're moving. I'm in the back of some kind of vehicle.'_

Gideon radioed his team, telling everyone to get to Gideon's quarters on the double, that he had intel coming in from Mitchell.

It took all of two minutes for the three men to come racing into the room. Gideon was pacing, but looked focused. He nodded to his men, then pointed at his head as if to say, 'hang on, I'm on the phone'.

He then stopped and looked at them.

"Ok, they're on the move. They must have spotted one of our birds and panicked. This is working to our advantage. They hauled Mitchell out and they're on the move. The best part is he's pretending to be unconscious from the beating he just got, and they didn't bother to blindfold him. And he's sitting right in front of the back fucking window."

The men all smiled. They finally had a way to track their comrade.

Gideon put his hand up, closing his eyes.

 _'Gideon, we just passed a statue of some sort. Looks like a man, squatting with a gold ball or something in his hand. Does that ring a bell?'_

Gideon relayed this to the team. "Any of you ever hear of a statue like that?" Torres and Ronin shook their heads. Joker ran over to Gideon's couch and grabbed his tablet, fingers flying over the screen.

"It's the Spirit of Detroit! He's in Detroit!" Joker yelled.

There was a chorus of "Yesss!" and high fiving.

 _'That's great mate. Any clue as to where you're heading?'_

There was a pause, then – _'no. We're moving pretty fast and it's dark. Sun has already set so I can't tell direction based on that. I only have pants on, everything else was removed, so I don't have my watch either in order to use the compass. Although my arms are secured behind me.'_

 _'OK, keep your eyes open as best as you can for any landmarks. I'm going to get the team geared up and get ready to head out. We're coming for you mate.'_

 _'Copy that.'_

Gideon looked up at his men and smiled for the first time in a while.

"OK boys, we have a general idea of location. As soon as he spots more landmarks we'll be able to pinpoint him, but for now let's suit up and get out of here."

Finally feeling optimistic about getting to Mitchell the team headed down as a unit to get their gear on and get their weapons. As they moved Gideon radioed Irons and updated him, Irons giving him the official go ahead to move. As Gideon finished kitting up Ilona strode in and looked at Gideon.

"I understand you found him?" Gideon nodded at her. "I would like to join you, with your approval."

Gideon was surprised, he knew Ilona was a strong soldier and was hell on wheels in the field but for some reason never thought she would join his team. Hell she usually led her _own_ teams in the field. He looked at his men for their reaction. Ronin shrugged, Torres said they could definitely use her, and Joker – well, Joker just looked scared. Gideon stuck his hand out to her and she took it, shaking it. "Welcome aboard Ilona."

It would take three hours to reach Michigan from New Baghdad, and by then Gideon hoped they would be able to know for certain where Mitchell was. About an hour out from their drop point Gideon pulled out his knife and got his men's attention.

"Let's feed boys." With that he sliced his wrist and offered it to Ronin, who sat next to him. They all did the same, each feeding from the other, ramping up their strength, their hearing, vision and smell.

Ilona wiped off Joker's wrist, then let go of it.

"Mm, you taste good Joker."


	10. Chapter 10

Mitchell was still faking sleep when the vehicle finally pulled to a stop. He was ready to pounce however because they had given him that injection to allow him to heal, but then never administered the suppressant after. So he had healed up nicely in the car. Now he had to decide how to proceed. Did he try to make a break for it now? Did he wait and allow them to take him inside and hopefully identify where they were now? He heard the men talking as they got out and slammed the doors. Their voices were muffled so he focused his hearing to pick up what they were saying.

Well crap, he thought. He could hear them discussing how to incapacitate him so that they could get him inside. If he could just get in without a hood so he could see he would deal with it.

He only had a few seconds before they would be on top of him, he need to think and act fast. He could hear doors from other vehicles slamming shut then footsteps as they made their way over to where he was. He let his body go limp, hoping they would just drag him in.

Someone yanked open his door and before Mitchell could register what the man was doing three men quickly leaned in with Taser sticks and shocked him violently. He tried to kick out at them but found his legs wouldn't cooperate and he was quickly dragged out of the vehicle.

Very much out of his character Mitchell found himself laughing. "You cocksuckers, I wasn't expecting that". He was thrown to the ground with one man on top of him, a knee in the back of his neck as another tried to tie his hands behind him. Out of spite Mitchell tried to rear up only to get a Taser stick to his side. "You wanna walk in shithead or should we drag your ass?" the one with the Taser spat at him. Hands secured in reinforced metal cuffs he was hauled to his feet. Mitchell looked at the men, not recognizing them. He glared at the one aiming the Taser at him. He could feel his rage building up but worked to keep it down. He needed to remain calm and clear headed so that he could hopefully see something worthwhile to pass on to Gideon. All the same, Mitchell was tired of this and pissed. He bent his head down and spat on the man's shoe, which earned him a smack to the head with the non-electrified end of the Taser stick. "Move it asshole," the man said to him. And with that the two men who'd had each arm in a vice grip dragged him off.

Before they went through a door Mitchell glanced around him quickly and took in his surroundings. Other than drab buildings, there were only two things out there that caught his eye that may have been a landmark. He cleared his mind and to contact Gideon with what he saw, but he couldn't seem to do it. The Taser must have interfered with his ability. He would keep trying until he was successful.

The men dragged him down a dark hallway to what looked like an elevator. The man on his right spoke in to his com.

"Major, this private Jones, we have the prisoner inside. Heading to containment area with your approval." There was a slight pause, then his guard replied with a "yes sir" and a nod at his partners. The man with the Taser leaned over and hit the button to call the elevator. Mitchell noted they were going down. Of course they were, he thought. Dungeons and torture chambers were always in the basement, right? He found himself laughing slightly at the thought. Lack of sleep and food was starting to make him loopy. At his quiet laugh someone behind him hit him upside the head.

"You find your situation funny shithead? Just wait til the Major gets to you." The man with the Taser stick laughed, thinking he was scaring Mitchell. Mitchell just scoffed. Despite trying to remain calm with his blood lust roaring just under the surface, Mitchell turned his head just enough to look at the man and allowed his eyes to turn to their lust color, then back. The man blanched, but regained his composure. The elevator door chimed, then opened and Mitchell was shoved in. He took note though that Taser man stood as far away from Mitchell as he could.

One floor down and Mitchell was shoved again once the doors opened. He was pushed down another hallway into a large room with smaller rooms attached, each with a large glass window that looked like they were designed to contain people. Stopping at one his guard punched in a security code to unlock the door and pushed him in. The Baron was inside, Martinez next to him setting up his gear. The Baron turned around and his face immediately turned a bright shade of angry red when he saw Mitchell being walked in.

"Why the hell is this man not hooded and sedated?!" He yelled to the man with the Taser.

Taser man looked very nervous when he replied. "I..I..wasn't aware he w-was supposed to be."

The Baron looked like he was ready to strangle the man. Pointing at Mitchell, he was practically in the man's face when he yelled. "Do you know what kind of fucking prisoner he is?!" Turning to Martinez he spat out, "Martinez get him contained NOW!", then turning back to the guards holding Mitchell he yelled at them to get out. Mitchell smiled at the man who had Tasered him, smiling at his look of panic, and made sure to flash him some fang, scaring the man even more as he all but ran out of the room. A split second later he felt the sharp prick of a needle being jammed into his neck and then he was pulled in to the room proper and secured to the wall.

Mitchell wasn't sure what was coming over him. He had always been the quiet, reserved member of the team, but right now he felt an overwhelming need to provoke his jailer.

"It's so hard to find good help these days isn't?" He said.

The Baron turned towards him, his anger beginning to ebb and Mitchell could see him pull himself back into the creepy aristocrat persona of earlier. He smiled at Mitchell, "Yes, well, times are different now."

The man walked over to Martinez, speaking quietly. Mitchell figured the suppressant was kicking in since he couldn't hear what was being said, despite them being close enough. The Baron turned around and faced Mitchell again. "I am curious how your people knew to send surveillance to our area."

Mitchell just shrugged. "Just lucky I guess."

The Baron shrugged, looking bored. "Well no matter, they won't be able to find us here. You won't be found." Mitchell just smiled and blinked at the man, saying nothing.

"I find myself wanting a bit more from you, Mitchell. While I want what you know about Shadow, I also want to know more about Atlas, and how to get to your boss. He's proving to be a thorn in the side of my boss. And when my boss is unhappy, _I_ am unhappy."

Mitchell just mock frowned at the man, as if to say, "aww poor baby." He saw the flash of anger quickly show in the man's eyes, but seriously, did he think Mitchell would just tell him what he wanted to know?

The Baron clapped his hands together. "Right, let's get started shall we?" He then turned, nodded to Martinez, and promptly left.

Martinez set up various pieces of equipment. Turning one on an incredibly loud and head-pounding noise was played. The next to go on was some type of strobe light system. Martinez then turned off the lights, plunging the room in darkness except for the strobe lights, then left, locking the door behind him.

Joker was deathly white, eyes round. He kept staring at Gideon, then Ilona, then back to Gideon. Gideon took in his color and asked Ilona, "Damn Ilona, how much did you take from him?"

Ilona smiled at Gideon. "Just enough." She then winked at Joker. Joker felt faint. Yes, he was man enough to admit that. He was going to faint. This was so not happening to him, he thought. Nonononono, he kept repeating over and over in his head. Joker looked over to Gideon, raising his eyebrows as if to say "help me!" Gideon just shrugged. He looked at Torres, but he was on a tablet and completely oblivious to what was going on. Looking over to Ronin he saw the man with a smirk on his face as he pulled on the scruff on his chin. He looked amused.

Gideon was doing everything he could to school his features into one of boredom. He knew exactly what was happening, and the irony of the pairing was not lost on him. Nor it seemed was it lost on Ronin, judging by the look in his eyes and the constant rubbing of his mouth, as if to refrain from laughing. That was two pairs of team members paired up now. He couldn't help but wonder if Ronin and Torres would be paired. Was that why he had the members he had? Hard to say, he thought. What was, was. Joker was looking at his feet, making every attempt to NOT look at Ilona. Gideon caught Ilona's eye and nodded at her arm. She caught his meaning. Grabbing a knife from her thigh sheath she kicked Joker's foot, making him look up at her.

"Fancy a drink?" She said, her Russian accent smooth as she held out her knife and offered him her wrist. Joker went even more white while furiously shaking his head, pushing back into the wall of the war bird. At this Ronin lost it and let out a belly laugh and Gideon couldn't help but join in. Ilona started to laugh as well, making Torres look up in confusion as to what was going on. Joker looked ready to either indeed faint, or jump out the war bird. Still laughing Gideon leaned over and smacked him on the leg. "Roll with it buddy," he said. Looking defeated he looked at Ilona. She smiled at him again and wanting to yank his chain some more, ran her tongue over her bottom lip, letting her fangs out.

"Oh dear God", was the only thing Joker could say as Ronin grabbed him around the shoulders, telling him, "you'll survive man."

The pilot's voice came in through their coms, announcing they were coming to their LZ and to prepare to disembark. The team would rope down quickly while the war bird flew slow, at almost ground level, hopefully concealing the team. Everyone stood and began to attach the ropes to their harnesses, making sure weapons were secured. Gideon knew that Mitchell had been in Detroit. He wasn't sure where he was now, but he figured they would start here. He knew Mitchell had to have been held somewhere near the Spirit of Detroit statue, so they would search the area there. But for now they were dropping in outside of Detroit and would work their way in from there.

The pilot spoke up telling the team to get ready and to head out on his mark. The war bird flew in low on a street that was nice and wide but with skyscrapers lining both sides, providing some cover for the team. Levelling out the pilot gave the signal and Gideon and his team threw their ropes out and quickly descended. Once everyone was down and disconnected Gideon gave the pilot a hand sign and he pulled up and off, heading away from them.

"Joker, pull out your scanner and check for any life signs. The rest of you, stay alert and see if you sense anything." Gideon let his senses loose, picking up the scents of a decaying city. He could smell trash, animal life, water – nothing of interest. Same with his hearing, only picking up on critters scurrying around nearby. Looking at his team he got acknowledgements of the same.

"I'm not seeing anything of interest on the scanners boss." Gideon figured as much. But he didn't want to be caught unaware again.

"OK, let's work our way in, heads on a swivel. I know Mitchell was here but has been moved. As soon as I hear from him we'll start towards him. Keep your eyes open, if you see anything that looks like wavy air, stay on top of it. I do not want another run in with our ghostly tangos." When every member of his team nodded, he knew they were ready to move out.

They began to work their way in through the streets, scanning everything with their senses. It was eerie, the entire city had been overtaken by Sentinel and promptly emptied of civilians. Gideon knew this meant that if Sentinel forces were out there scanning, Alpha team would be promptly picked up. Not having civilians in the area showing up on scanners meant the team would stick out. But there was nothing Gideon could do about it. Their only hope was that Sentinel would not be looking for them. Atlas was performing a fake search of a completely different area, war birds and some ground troops working the area to make Sentinel think that's where their focus was. Until Gideon could check in with Mitchell on his new location they would start from here and hopefully find something. He was a little concerned about the lack of contact, but tried not to dwell on it.

About an hour later Joker told them they were close to the statue and he stopped to scan the area. Still no signs of life, but Gideon wasn't going to take any chances. He needed a plan. With only 5 of them there wasn't a good way to separate and search the area. They would have to break up into two teams, and it would be slow. Gideon tried to replay the scene in his head when Mitchell told him he was being moved, trying to determine how far from the statue he may have been. Looking around at the height of the buildings, he wondered if going up would be the way to go.

"OK folks. Let's get a higher vantage point. Make sure your mag grips and boost jump are enabled. Torres, Ronin and Ilona take that side of the street. Joker you're with me. I think this may be the fastest way to search. Let's hope someone left something behind for us to find."

As the three people made their way across the street Gideon and Joker put on their mag grips and took a running leap at a building, climbing all the way to the top of the multi-story building. From there they would jump from building to building, looking and hopefully spot something.

Mitchell wasn't sure how long he'd been in the room with the lights and noise, but he was ready to go crazy. He had a pounding headache and felt sick to his stomach. Finally the door opened and Martinez walked in. He turned off the strobe light and noise, but before Mitchell could sigh in relief he threw another switch activating a blinding light. Slamming his eyes shut Mitchell cried out. It was like being up close and personal to a sun, the light was so bright. It was physically painful. Suddenly the light went off, causing Mitchell to become disorientated. Still not able to open his eyes he didn't see Martinez approach until the man put a hood over his head and tightened it around his neck. He could then feel chains being attached to his cuffs, then the cuffs being removed from the wall hook he'd been attached to. A second later he heard the chains moving, followed by the feeling of his arms being pulled up. Once again he was on his tip toes. The deafening noise started up again and Mitchell forced himself to even his breathing out before he hyperventilated inside the hood. He was worried though, while he felt confident he could withstand the physical torture, he wasn't so sure about this. His cuffs were already cutting into his hands and he tried not to move too much.

However, Martinez wasn't quite ready to leave yet. He picked up a metal bar and swung at Mitchell, shattering several ribs in the process. Mitchell cried out with the pain, wholly unprepared for what had just happened. The agony was intense, the pain of his ribs coupled with the noise and the difficulty with breathing inside the mask was overwhelming. Mitchell just kept trying to breathe and waited for the next blow, not knowing when it would come due to his lack of sight.

The team had been searching for two hours when Torres came in over his com.

"Captain, we may have spotted something. We're up on an old office building and Ilona spotted what looks like an Atlas vehicle outside by a loading dock. There's an open door on the building. We're not picking any signs up."

Gideon signaled Joker to start working his way down the building to ground level. "Copy. Make your way down but wait for me before moving in. Let's do this right."

About ten minutes later Gideon and Joker met up with the rest of Alpha team. Torres moved up to him. "We scouted all sides, it looks like this is the only way in or out. How do you want to do this?" Gideon would've loved to have had the time and manpower to search and take their time working out a plan, but that was time and manpower he just didn't have. His hope was that if this was indeed where Mitchell had been held, then they evacuated everyone, or close to it.

"We move in, look for intel that'll lead us to Mitchell. We stick together this time. Torres and Ronin, I want you watching our backs, keep your eyes open for signs of our invisible friends. Joker and Ilona, I want you scanning for threats and any intel. I'll take the lead. Let's move in."

As a unit they made their way in, Torres and Ronin covering the rear, Gideon in front, Joker and Ilona secured in the middle. "No signs of life yet boss," Joker said quietly. They cleared every room on the ground floor, noting that it had the air of being left in a hurry. There were cold cups of coffee left on table tops. One station even had a partially eaten sandwich. After clearing the ground floor Gideon motioned for the stairs heading down to a sub level.

"More than likely Mitchell was kept down here. Let's start here then work our way back up." Staying in formation they made their way down the stairs coming out into a small area that would've been secured by the reinforced door that now stood open. Gideon stepped through, his rifle at the ready, visually and aurally scanning for threats. The small room looked like an observation room, there were four rooms attached, two on each side. All of the rooms had large windows that were tinted on this side. Probably two way Gideon thought. All but one had looked unused.

Gideon could feel his anger building as he stepped slowly into the room that looked like it had been used recently. There was dried blood on the floor. A lot of it. Chains hung from the ceiling from a pulley, one end attached to the wall, the other ends ending in heavy, blood-encrusted manacles. Turning he saw a hose had been coiled up, still attached to the spigot. A cart that had been left behind held some kind of machine with cables running from it.

Gideon hadn't realized he was growling, eyes glowing and fangs out until Ronin had stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the cart and placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him. He's strong." Gideon snapped out of it, nodding at Ronin and silently grateful for him stepping in. Turning he saw Joker and Torres looking uneasy at room. Ilona however looked thoughtful, like she was finding inspiration for the next time she "questioned" someone.

"OK, other than assuming this is where Mitchell was kept, there's nothing here to give us any indication as to where they went. Let's move back up to the second floor." The team seemed eager to get off this level and the visual reminder of what Mitchell had, and was probably still, enduring.

They climbed back up to the ground floor, then continued to the second. Gideon gave the signal to search the room, letting his senses roam and finding nothing. It seemed the building was abandoned.

Three hours later they had scoured the building, finding nothing. Gideon was ready to tear doors off their hinges in his frustration. Despite being in a hurry to leave this building behind, they'd still had time to wipe out their computers, leaving nothing of interest behind.

Mitchell had started seeing the little flying creatures about an hour ago. They were cute, little bat-like wings in varying shades of blue, big green eyes. They would flit around in front of him, dive-bombing each other, making Mitchell giggle. In the back of his head he knew of course he'd entered the realm of hallucinations, but he welcomed it with open arms. It distracted him from the 24/7 noise, lack of sight and constant beatings. They had broken his left leg this morning. At least he thought it was this morning, he had no idea what time it was, what day it was – hell he didn't even know what month it was.

The constant noise and pain had prevented him from contacting Gideon. He didn't know if that was intentional, if they'd discovered his ability to mind talk, or it was just a coincidence. Regardless, he'd had no way to make contact and therefor no way to tell Gideon about what he saw on the way in. Every so often though he would just repeat two words over and over, hoping that maybe at some point they would reach his mate. But for now, he followed his little flying friend's antics as they helped him escape the pain.

Gideon sat at a table in a room on the ground floor of the building they hoped to find clues in. One work screen was still operational enough that he could pull up a map of the city and outlying areas. Gideon studied it, trying to determine where they had taken Mitchell. He had marked the building they were in as well as the statue Mitchell had seen, drawing a line to connect them. It was the only thing he had to go on. Mitchell hadn't been able to determine their direction, so it was completely up in the air where they went. Hell they may not even be in country anymore. The frustration level was rising to extreme levels. He needed to make contact with Mitchell, and he was beyond worried at how long it had been since he'd heard from him. They hadn't gone this long without making contact, but he refused to think the worse.

He sat back in the chair, rubbing his eyes. They had scouted the immediate area surrounding the building but saw nothing of interest. It was late and he knew his team was tired. They decided to hole up for the night and hopefully get more intel and head back out in the morning. He looked his team over. Torres, Joker and Ilona were eating MREs, Ronin was working on a tablet. Trying to clear his mind somewhat he watched the three eating. Ilona was sitting next to Joker, and it didn't escape his notice that Joker was as close to Torres as he could be without actually sitting in his lap. He inwardly chuckled. He never would've pegged these two. They didn't even know each other, other than Joker being scared to death of the interrogator. If he really thought about it though, it almost made sense. He could see Joker being paired to a very dominant woman. Not that Joker was weak or submissive, but he had gotten his nickname for a reason, so it just seemed natural that his mate would be a strong dominant. Ilona would keep him in line and on his toes. If he didn't succumb to fear of course.

He looked at his other two members and found himself wondering about them. Torres and Ronin had always been a bit more private. He'd never seen them with anyone openly or even really flirt. Joker of course flirted with anything that had boobs and was breathing, so maybe he never noticed if the other two did as well. Ronin had always been reserved for the most part. Very much a team member and outgoing within their group, but when in the general populace he would tend to stick to himself. He was very comfortable with solitude, but at the same time didn't hesitate to throw himself out there to protect his team. Torres was the rock, always there when Gideon needed him, very even keeled. Gideon trusted both men with his life, and he considered all three men to be very good friends. He had warmed up to Ilona pretty quickly. She was definitely not one to take shit and was all business in the field, but he had a feeling if she stuck around Gideon would see a devious side to her. He already knew she was enjoying the torment of Joker. He made a mental note to talk to Joker about feeding from her and completing their mating. It would make Joker's life a lot easier.

Torres finished eating and threw his wrappers back into his pack and grabbed a bottle of water. Looking up he saw Gideon watching them, and asked if he wanted something to eat. When Gideon said sure, Torres rifled through the pack and pulled a couple out.

Speaking in a snooty French restaurant waiter voice he told Gideon, "we have a very nice Beef Stew with roasted potato and spring peas, or a fine spaghetti and meatballs." Gideon laughed and told him to give him the beef stew, and with a snooty "very good suh" Torres threw the MRE at him and Gideon ripped it all open and began to eat.

Mitchell was terrified. His funny little friends with the bat wings had left him and he'd been tormented for hours by the most horrifying creatures he'd ever seen. They had large red eyes, huge talons and snakes for tongues. They would fly at him and slash his face with their barbed tails making horrific screeching sounds. His body hurt so bad, he kept praying for death but it just wouldn't come. When all of the creatures flew in a tight circle and morphed into one large one it flew right up to his face and roared, its maw opening up and revealing rows and rows of serrated teeth. Mitchell screamed out in terror, jerking in the chains to get away, but it came at him anyway.

When the two men walked into the observation room and heard Mitchell screaming and jerking, the taller man knew it was time to continue his questioning.

Looking over at Martinez, he said, "Let's see if he's ready to cooperate now." Martinez nodded at the Major and putting ear plugs to protect against the deafening noise playing inside opened the door to the cell and pulled in the cart with metal pails on it. He then brought in a long table with restraints and set it up. Killing the music he then began to lower the hanging man to the floor. Mitchell collapsed but screamed in pain. His arms had dislocated at some point and after hours of relentless noise the silence felt like it would blow his ear drums.

A third man walked in to help and together the two of them went over and grabbed Mitchell and carried him over and placed him on the table. They secured his hands and feet to the table. Mitchell was in an uncontrolled panic and breathing heavily inside his mask. He had no idea what was real, nor what was happening.

However when he heard that voice, the one that belonged to The Baron, he went still. He knew that voice. He HATED that voice. He fought against his restraints but to no avail. With two dislocated arms and two broken legs he could barely move. He could feel someone close to him. "Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?"

Mitchell screamed at the voice.

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

Nodding at the two men, The Baron stepped back. Martinez picked up a pail of water and poured it over Mitchell's face, the water pouring in through the hood causing Mitchell to panic, believing he was being drowned. He struggled, coughing and gasping, trying everything to get air into his lungs. Just when he was able to pull a breath in, another pail of water was poured over him. Mitchell was in a true state of panic, his body reacting on its own.

"Tell me what I want to know and this all stops."

Sputtering and coughing, Mitchell only said, "never". When someone began to hold a flame to the bottoms of his bare feet while another pail was poured, he began to actively pray for death.

Several hours later he was finally thrown to the floor. His hood was still on and his hands tied behind his back. He was having difficulty breathing, he could barely swallow and the pain on his feet was unbearable. He lay on the concrete floor and tried to hold it together. He didn't think he would survive much more and he was terrified he would talk.

 _'Gideonhelpmehelpmehelpme'_


	11. Chapter 11

Gideon woke with a start, he wasn't sure if he'd been dreaming or he really heard Mitchell call for him. He sat up and called out to his mate.

 _'Jack? Jack where are you?'_

 _'helpmehelpmehelpme'_

 _'I'm here, I'm close. I need more, where are you?'_

 _'bluebridgebigcoke'_

Gideon tried again but there was only silence on the other end. He didn't know, but on the other end for the first time in days Mitchell had finally been able to become unconscious.

Gideon yelled at Joker, waking him up. "Joker, I think I got something from Mitchell. I only got a couple of words but hopefully it's enough."

At his words the rest of the team was up and instantly ready. Ronin asked him how Mitchell was doing. Gideon looked pale. "Honestly, I don't think he's going to last much longer. He sounds…bad. We need to find him, _now_."

Gideon told Joker what he'd heard – blue, bridge, big, coke. All but Joker looked clueless, but Joker, being a native of Detroit, knew exactly what it meant.

"The blue bridge boss, it's a total landmark. It's in Grand Rapids, he's gotta be there. Big Coke? He probably means the old Coca Cola factory, there's a large Coke sign on the building. I don't remember where exactly it is but all we have to do boss is get to the bridge and go from there."

Joker was fidgety, he knew exactly where they needed to go. Gideon didn't even had to issue orders, his team was already packing up and ready to move out. Looking at his map Gideon calculated that it was a good 150 miles, there was no way to get there on foot. He would have to call in for an exfil. He got on the radio and requested the exfil and was told they could be there within 20 minutes. It was going to be the longest 20 minutes of his life. He didn't know if Mitchell could hear him, but he reached out and told him they were on their way.

A half hour later they were airborne and on their way to Grand Rapids. Gideon was trying to remain calm, he didn't want to fuck things up now that they knew where Mitchell was. It should only take them 40 minutes at the most to fly in, so he needed to be ready to go. Other Atlas teams were flying in as well to back them up. As they moved in to their LZ Gideon spotted a blue bridge. That had to be it. The war bird landed and the five of them jumped off running. As they moved in Gideon heard Bravo and Charlie teams check in, and he told them to move in, but that Alpha had the lead on all movements. It would be his team to get Mitchell.

As they made their way in Joker got Gideon's attention and pointed up at a building. Looking up he saw a run-down building, the faint letters 'Coca-Cola' painted on the side, and on top, a large billboard with an ancient ad for Coke. Gideon radioed the teams.

"Bravo and Charlie 0-1, we have a visual on possible location for Sentinel. Hold until my mark while we scout." A duo of "Roger Alpha 0-1"s and Gideon used hand signals to tell his team what he wanted. After getting into position Ilona put her pack down and pulled out a WASP, activated it and threw it up into the air. Torres had the controller and began to maneuver the drone through the area. He flew it up and around the Coke building, not seeing anything of interest then moved on to the buildings surrounding it. On the third building, across the street on the East side he finally spotted something.

"Security cameras Captain, active. Each corner. Moving around." He brought the drone around to a window and zoomed in, spotting Sentinel guards moving. "Tangos confirmed, Sentinel forces are inside."

Joker had brought up his scanner, searching the life signs. "Copy that, I see several signs inside. Looks like a sub level plus three above ground. Four bodies on sub level, shit, looks like a good thirty on ground and even more on the second. Third floor looks empty."

Gideon rubbed his lips, thinking. "Torres bring the drone up to the roof, see if it's clear and if so, if there's any roof access." Torres did as asked. "Roof looks clear. There does appear to be a door, unknown if locked." Gideon nodded, his plan forming in his head. A locked door wouldn't keep him out. He radioed to his other two teams, telling them to rendezvous with Alpha at their current location.

When Bravo and Charlie teams arrived, their two commanders immediately moved over to Gideon for orders. Gideon wasted no time in issuing them.

"OK, Bravo team will take the roof. Charlie team will rope down from roof to second floor and enter through the windows. Alpha will go in through the front door. We'll place mute charges and blow our way in. Alpha will clear ground and sub levels, Charlie you guys clear the second floor, and Bravo, you start on the third level and work your way down, got it?" Both commanders nodded and headed back to their teams to relay the plan. Gideon debated using the WASP to take out Sentinel personnel, but decided against it. It would mean one member of the team staying behind, and he knew no one would be willing to do so. "OK Torres bring the WASP back. Let's get ready to ring the doorbell."

After the teams moved into place, Alpha and Bravo placed their mute charges, released them, then blew open doors and moved in with Charlie team rappelling down and in through the windows of the second floor. At this all hell broke loose. Gunfire erupted as Atlas and Sentinel forces clashed.

Gideon and his team worked their way in, shooting anything that looked like it belonged to Sentinel. He pushed Mitchell to the back of his mind. Clear the building first, eliminate the enemy – then rescue him. He could hear his team shouting to each other pushing forward while still watching each other's back. Joker was on his right, taking cover along a wall while trying to pick off the enemy. Ronin was throwing frag grenades while Torres picked off the men who tried to run from it. Ilona was just in front of Gideon, taking cover behind another wall. Someone threw a grenade and it rolled up to her, but she didn't see it.

"Ilona!" Joker screamed at her and then ran and threw himself at her, kicking the grenade away and covering her when it exploded. He rolled off of her and got up, he'd managed to kick it away just far enough. He offered his hand to help her up and she took it. "Thank you Joker," she breathed heavily.

Gideon moved his way in, shooting a Sentinel soldier right between the eyes as he tried to come up on Gideon's side. Bravo and Charlie teams were all over the coms, the third floor had been cleared and he could hear them clearing the second level. It took another half hour or so before the room was cleared and Gideon felt they could make their way down. Charlie team had come down to provide back up.

"Alpha! On me, let's clear the sub level."

Mitchell cried out as the knife was pushed in again. He kept hyperventilating under the hood but they kept bringing him back around, only to administer some form of extreme pain. They kept slowly pushing a knife into various parts of his body. The deafening noise was back on. His hands were tied behind him, and his legs were chained to the wall. He kept trying to move into a fetal position to protect himself, but it didn't stop them from kicking him and stabbing him.

The Baron watched from the observation room. Thankfully the ear plugs were keeping most of the noise out. The heavy staccato beats interspersed with high pitches and what sounded like screams was extreme. Martinez and his new partner had been working on Mitchell for some time now, and he signaled to them to kill the noise so he could go in. When the noise quit he took out his ear plugs and went to move in when he heard the commotion above him.

Shit, were they under attack? He grabbed him com and tried to contact someone, but no one answered. This was unacceptable. He could not let them interfere, he still hadn't broken Mitchell completely. The bastard was still refusing to talk, despite the amount of torture that would've killed any ordinary man days ago. He refused to let him win. He stormed into the room and grabbed Mitchell around the throat, hauling him up to his knees.

"You think you've won? You think they're coming to get you?!" He began to squeeze, choking the life from Mitchell, who started jerking, trying to get air. "I WILL get what I want from you goddammit!" He threw Mitchell back to the ground and yelled at Martinez to release his arms. He vaguely heard a loud explosion by the reinforced door to the set of rooms but he ignored it as he yelled at Martinez to hold Mitchell's arm straight out. He was livid, mad with anger. He would not let them take his prisoner. He pulled a knife out, a wicked blade that looked like a cross between a meat cleaver and a carving knife. Stomping back over to Mitchell he hauled him up again.

"You think you've got the upper hand now? Huh?! You've got _nothing_ you bastard!" He swung the blade down, cleanly cutting through Mitchell's forearm.

Blowing the door Gideon and the team moved in, rifles up. Just as they made it in to the observation room he saw a blade come down and the most agonizing, heart-wrenching wail come from his mate. It all happened in slow motion for Gideon. Throwing his head back Gideon howled, releasing his fangs as his vision went blood red. He raised his rifle and placed a round in between the eyes of the two men who were holding Mitchell. The man with the knife turned, his eyes widening in shock as he took in the scene before him. Five people in Atlas uniforms, all with glowing red eyes, fangs bared and rifles aimed at him. The one in the center was positively shaking in rage.

Gideon could only see red, his rage was so intense, so all-encompassing he only had one thought, to kill the fucker in front of him. It was a primal, beastly version of him that ripped the door to the cell off and flung it. He then hurtled towards the man, letting out a growl so ferocious that his target actually wet himself. Gideon let his beast take over and barely felt human as he ripped the man's throat out, but he didn't stop there. He ripped the man apart, limb from limb. He would've kept going but he could hear someone yelling his name over and over. He turned and saw Mitchell and he thought his heart would stop.

He stumbled over to the body on the floor. Ilona moved in, carefully. She'd never seen anyone who was part of Shadow react like this. But then she didn't know of anyone whose mate had been taken and tortured. She wasn't sure if Gideon was going to attack her, he was completely out of it, but she needed to get a tourniquet on Mitchell before he bled out. Taking a chance, she moved in to Mitchell and took her belt off and wrapped it around his stump, pulling it tight to stop the flow of blood. Gideon was still in blood lust, but the look in his eyes was something Ilona would never forget. She checked Mitchell for a pulse, finding one, but it was faint as hell. She took the hood off of him and Gideon howled again at the sight of his beaten face. Gideon picked up his upper body, cradling it, making keening sounds.

Ilona looked over to the rest of their team. Ronin was squatting, elbows on his knees and hands fisted against his mouth. Torres was on the radio, he'd already requested an emergency evac and was communicating with the other teams. She looked over to Joker who just sat there, eyes wet, face pale. He looked lost, looking between Gideon, Mitchell and Ilona. She could see something in his eyes when he met hers, but her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces at the team's reaction to their situation.

She turned back to Gideon who was still holding his mate, rocking him. She put her hand on his shoulder to provide what little comfort she could at a time like this. A few minutes later the evac team came rushing down into the room to get Mitchell out. When they tried to take Mitchell to put him on a stretcher to get him back to the war bird Gideon lashed out, preventing them from touching him.

Ilona quickly stepped in. "Hold up boys, be careful. He's so far into blood lust I'm not sure what he's going to do." The medics were anxious. "Maam, we need to get him out of here ASAP, he's bleeding out." Ilona nodded at them. "I know, I know. That's his mate though, I don't think he's going to let you touch him." She turned back to Gideon.

"Gideon, we need to get Mitchell out of here quickly, otherwise he won't make it. Gideon, please, let them take Mitchell." When there was no response from Gideon, Ilona took her life into her hands and smacked Gideon. "GIDEON. Mitchell needs help NOW!"

That seemed to do the trick. Gideon growled at her and made to strike back, but when he saw the medics he stopped. He suddenly scooped Mitchell up and stood and ignoring the medics carried Mitchell up the stairs and out to the war bird himself.


	12. Chapter 12

Gideon walked in to the medical bay nodding at the nurses in the front reception area working on charts and talking to each other. He knew a few of them by name now, and they easily smiled at him. He continued down a hallway and turned the corner to the ICU. When the nurse behind the security desk looked up and saw him, she also smiled.

"Good morning Captain, go right in." She hit the buzzer to unlock the door and Gideon stepped through, thanking her as he did. He hated this section. It was dreary, full of beeping noises and men and women connected to various tubes and machines helping to keep them alive.

Two weeks had passed since they'd rescued Mitchell. Two very long weeks. Gideon had been given a leave from field work so that he could be closer to Mitchell. His team had also been given leave and they had used the time to work on other projects at Atlas. Gideon and Joker were training new recruits, Ilona had asked for a permanent transfer to Gideon's team and gotten approval from Gideon and Irons. Once their team was whole again, they'd be back out. There was no denying that his team was unique to other Atlas teams. They were a unit, and only death would separate them.

As he moved into the low-lit area where the nurse's station was a young woman saw him and welcomed him.

"Good morning sir," she said. Gideon stopped at the desk, asking her how Mitchell was doing today, and if he could see him.

"He's still in and out, but he's been very restless. We've had to keep him sedated to keep him calm so he doesn't hurt himself. In fact he's due for another dose in a few minutes. You might want to go in before it wears off completely." Gideon nodded at her and said his thanks, then moved over to Mitchell's area. The blinds were half drawn and the lights low, presumably to keep the atmosphere calm and relaxing.

He stepped inside and looked over at the bed. Mitchell laid there, not really moving, eyes closed. IVs ran from both arms, and he saw his whole arm was still being restrained to the bed. The thick, padded leather cuff around his wrist was attached to the bed rail, and if he lifted the sheet he knew he would see identical ones around his ankles. Despite being told it was to prevent Mitchell from hurting himself it made Gideon angry. Gideon looked over at the other arm, still having a hard time seeing where it ended midway down the forearm. It was heavily bandaged still, even though most of it should've healed by now. His physical injuries had healed within a day once he was given something to counteract the suppressant that was in his system. However it was the psychological injuries that would take time, and the doctor's warned Gideon it wouldn't be easy given the kind of torture he'd endured.

He stepped over to the bed and grabbed the chair, moving it closer. He sat down and unbuckled the cuff, rubbing Mitchell's wrist to sooth the skin. Entwining his fingers into Mitchell's he let out a small sigh. "Hey kid, wanted to see how you were doing. You look better, not as many tubes in you today. That's good." Gideon rubbed his face with his free hand, he wanted his partner back. He felt helpless, not being able to do anything. All he could do was be here and talk to him. One hand still in Mitchell's, the other hand went up to curl his hair behind an ear, and he rubbed Mitchell's cheek with the back of his finger. "Joker and I ran some sims with a new batch of recruits today. Most of them seem like they'll work out. Ronin will take them out tomorrow to run them on the ranges, see how they do there."

Gideon continued to talk to him when Mitchell began to toss his head, murmuring something Gideon couldn't make out. "Hey kid, shhh, its ok," he said, but Mitchell began to really get agitated. He began thrashing and yelling out and Gideon knew he was deep in the throes of a nightmare. He hadn't seen Mitchell do this before since he was usually sedated when Gideon was there. Gideon was trying to talk to him to calm him down and he saw the nurse poke her head in, see the commotion then run back out, probably to get the sedative. Acting on instinct Gideon pushed Mitchell over slightly to the other side of the bed and then climbed up next to him and wrapped his arms around the man, pinning him somewhat. With one arm tightly around him, he used his free had to caress Mitchell's face.

 _'Shhh kid, I've got you. You're safe now. No one is going to hurt you anymore.'_ Gideon kept sending reassuring thoughts to Mitchell through their link and continued to softly caress his face. Mitchell began to calm, breathing heavily but the thrashing stopped. It was as if he knew he was in his mate's embrace. As he felt Mitchell calm down he relaxed his grip around him so that it didn't feel threatening, and instead provided enough grip to hopefully make Mitchell feel safe. It seemed to work, Mitchell's breathing began to slow and Gideon could feel his heartbeat slow down to normal. Mitchell rolled into Gideon and tucked his head into Gideon's chest, and Gideon felt like he'd stay like this for as long as it took to get his mate back. He had Mitchell's hand in his and he bent down and placed a kiss on Mitchell's knuckles. He still had his arm wrapped around Mitchell's back and decided to get comfortable, he wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

 ** _One week later_**

Gideon walked into the med unit again but headed the opposite direction of the ICU. This time he headed down to Post-Op. He'd gotten word that Mitchell was out of surgery and awake and he wasted no time heading down. He'd been on pins and needles all day and basically useless to everyone. Joker took over training at one point and ended up telling his Captain to go to the gym, or the track, or anywhere else for that matter. So he was almost jogging when he got to Post-Op and pushed through the double set of doors and headed to the nurse's station.

"Captain, he's awake and asking for you. He's in 104." A rather large, dark-skinned nurse pointed in the direction of Mitchell's room. Gideon did jog now until he came to room 104. The door was open, but he leaned in to see if Mitchell was indeed awake.

"Jack?" He asked quietly. Mitchell turned his head at Gideon's voice and smiled. Gideon moved in to his bedside and grabbed his good hand. He took in the dark circles under his eyes, but it was the bright blue that drew him in. "Hey kid, how are you feeling?"

"I'm ok," he said quietly. "Tired and sore, but ok." Gideon smiled at him, just so glad to have him conscious and back in the world of the living. He looked over at Mitchell's arm, propped up on two pillows. He was heavily bandaged in the middle of his arm, but a new prosthetic hand emerged from the bandages. Gideon ran his fingers over it.

"What's it feel like?" he asked.

Mitchell shrugged. "Dunno, can't feel it yet. Doc says it'll be a few days for the nerve endings to heal and make the connections complete. Then I should be able to move it. Can't really do it now."

"Maybe now is the time for me to challenge you to some pool so I can win my wages back from you, eh?" Gideon said with a smile. Mitchell laughed at that. "Not a chance. I'll still kick your ass."

Gideon was relieved to see Mitchell laugh. He knew the kid still had a long way to go to work out the demons of his imprisonment, but it was a start. And Gideon would be there the whole way. He just wanted to get Mitchell out of the hospital and bring him home. He'd already arranged for bigger quarters so that they could share them.

"Well I just want you to heal up so we can get you out of here and back home, I'm tired of lugging my ass all the way over here to see you," Gideon joked.

Mitchell chuckled at that. "Please, you're probably flirting with all the nurses while I'm in here." Gideon laughed with him, it felt good. Mitchell tried to scratch his arm where the prosthetic was through the bandages. "God this thing itches like hell," he groused. Gideon made a mental note to sneak something long and skinny in for him. They spent an hour together before the nurse came in and kicked Gideon out. The woman was huge. She was probably as wide as Gideon was tall and her face said she didn't take shit from anyone.

"You need to go now Captain. Mitchell needs a bath before the doctor comes in to check on the implant." Gideon's eyes glowed at that and he couldn't pass up the chance to tease Mitchell. "You know, as his commanding officer, I should probably stick around for that to make sure nothing happens." Mitchell choked at that and his face flamed. The nurse turned around and pinned Gideon with a stare.

"You will do no such thing Captain. In here I outrank you little man." And with that she poked him in the chest and pushed him out of Mitchell's door. She turned back to Mitchell and winked at him. "That boy is seriously a randy thing. You sure you can handle him? You know you a lot bigger than he is, don't forget that." They both ended up laughing, Mitchell knew that nurse Genevieve looked scary as hell but was an absolute doll. She'd been teasing him all week about Gideon and about how "cute they were" together.

* * *

 ** _Another week later_**

Gideon sat back on the couch in the common room holding his beer and just enjoying the evening. His team had wanted to throw a welcome home party for Mitchell and he wasn't about to say no. So he sat there and took it all in. Mitchell had come home four days ago and Gideon felt whole again. Mitchell was still on medical leave as he continued therapy for both the new arm and to help him overcome the after effects of his torture. He still had a long way to go, but he was at least on that road to recovery.

He watched as his mate stood by the window, everyone wanting to check out his new hand. He was keeping his eye on Mitchell to make sure he wasn't feeling suffocated, but he seemed to be doing ok. Mitchell kept looking at Joker and Ilona and shaking his head. He was shocked as hell when Gideon told him about the pairing. Then he'd laughed for a solid 20 minutes over it. The pair had finally completed their mating and now it was almost painful to watch. Gideon was pretty sure he was developing cavities from it.

More than just his team had shown up. Bravo and Charlie teams were here, and so were some of the nurses from the hospital, including the big scary one. But she winked at Gideon when she'd arrived and kept calling him "sugar". The party was in full swing and everyone was having a good time. Gideon got up for another beer when Torres came up to him.

"Hey Captain, great party man," he said. Gideon clapped him on the shoulder in greeting, noticing the tall man next to him. "Glad you came, this was a good idea. I think we needed this." Torres nodded. "Yeah, we definitely did. Hey I want to introduce you to someone." He pulled the other man over. He was good looking, strong and had chiseled features with a day's worth of scruff. "This is Connor, he runs with Walker's crew over at Special Forces."

Gideon raised his eyebrows as he shook his hand. "You're a Ghost? Phew, I've heard of you guys. I'm glad we're on the same side." He'd heard of the Ghosts - that was an elite team you didn't want to be on the wrong side of. Connor nodded his head as he shook Gideon's hand. "Yeah, I've heard the same about your crew as well Captain. I'm glad to see he's in good hands," Connor replied as he indicated Torres. Torres looked at Gideon, then at Connor, and back to Gideon. "Connor is also my mate," he said quietly.

Gideon was shocked to say the least. He'd had no idea Torres was even seeing anyone. But he was happy as hell to be honest. He grabbed Torres' hand and shook it as he patted his shoulder with the other. "Congrats man. How long?" Torres smiled at Connor. "We've been together a while now, but only recently discovered the mating. Since Connor is not part of Shadow, I wasn't sure what would happen, but it seems it doesn't matter. Mates are mates." Gideon was truly happy for his teammate.

Joker suddenly appeared, looking a bit tipsy. "So, dude, did you tell him? Huh?" Torres rolled his eyes at Joker. "Yeah man, I told him." Joker grinned and high fived Torres. "Now we gotta get Ronin hooked up!" With that statement Joker stumbled off, apparently to play matchmaker. Mitchell then walked up to the trio, sliding an arm around Gideon's shoulders.

"Hey Mitchell how ya doing?" Torres asked. "How's the new arm working out?" Mitchell held it up, waggling his new fingers. "It seems to work. Irons told me it was top of the line. I'm eager to get back out and test it." When Torres introduced Connor as his mate, Mitchell was also genuinely happy for the men. When Gideon told him about Joker's plans to find him a mate Mitchell laughed.

"Well I think he won't get far on that little mission. I think Ronin already has someone." When Gideon and Torres both raised their eyebrows in a "what the hell?" look, Mitchell just smiled. One of the ICU nurses received several visits from Ronin. They seem to be sweet on each other. She's a cute little thing, totally opposite to his big, scary look."

Gideon just smiled, it looked like his team was whole, in more ways than one.


	13. Epilogue

_**Two months later**_

Jonathon Irons looked out of the window overlooking the Atlas compound, his empire. Today was a good day, he thought. He finished off the last of his drink and set the glass down. At the knock at his door he turned around and moved behind his desk, but didn't sit.

"Come in."

The three men strode in as his receptionist opened the door for them, then closed it behind them. Irons smiled and moved in front of his desk. He looked at Gideon and Mitchell and gave them a slight nod.

"Thank you gentlemen." They nodded in reply and stepped back to the wall, eyes front. Irons moved towards the third man, who stood tall and proud. He extended his hand to shake the other man's, who hesitantly took it and shook.

"Major Cormack, thank for you for meeting with me. I know it wasn't an easy decision. May I offer you a drink?" With that Irons moved to his desk where a wine decanter and two wine glasses rested. He filled both glasses halfway then took them, handing one to Cormack.

"Thank you," Cormack said, taking a sip. He seemed a little surprised at its taste. Irons swirled his wine and lifting it to his nose inhaled like he was a sommelier.

Cormack shifted on his feet, looking impatient. "Forgive my rudeness Mr. Irons, but I believe you wanted to discuss the possibility of a cease-fire between our two companies."

Irons drank deeply, then faced Cormack. "Yes, yes indeed. I believe I have just the plan to insure we no longer have to fight each other."

Cormack took another sip of his wine, again looking it oddly. "This has an unusual flavor, what kind of wine is this?"

Irons smiled, "yes, it's a rather new addition to my wine collection. I call it, 'Pinot Knox'."

Cormack just looked at Irons and then suddenly looked ill. Before he could react or do anything, there was a hand on each of Cormack's shoulders. "I believe you will make a fine addition to my collection as well, _KingPin_."

And as Irons laughed Mitchell and Gideon led Cormack out of his room, the receptionist once again closing the door behind them.


End file.
